Since 2022, Russia's club and national teams have been banned from international competitions due to the attack on Ukraine and ongoing war. Sanctions were enacted so that Russian oligarchs like former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had to sell their teams, with Russia being on the outs of the soccer world only four years after hosting the World Cup themselves. But with the International Olympic Committee making the decision to lift the ban on Russia at the Olympics in July, that could open the door to others such as FIFA and UEFA doing the same?
It was notable how the IOC lifted the ban, saying that it was no longer applicable to Russia, but also saying that they were standing in solidarity with Ukraine. Russian athletes were originally banned from the Olympics due to violating the Olympic Charter because of the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. These are things that haven't changed from 2022 to now, as the War in Ukraine is still ongoing, which is a fact not lost on Ukraine Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi.
"I think it's a demonstration of disrespect of all the rules, disrespect for common European human values which are integrated into Olympic values, sports values. And that's why we appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne," Bidnyi said. "It was so obvious a primitive trick from the side of Russia, and to be honest, I don't believe that the IOC doesn't recognize it.
They tried to do this trick before. In the previous IOC, leadership saw right through this. So today, current leadership uses Russia's exact legal loophole as an excuse to welcome them back.
Russia continues to claim Ukrainian land as its sporting space. The violation has not stopped. "And Russia didn't even hide this trick.
On July 7, on the same day when this decision had been made, the Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev openly admitted on Russian state television that this charter amendment was merely a technical step designed to trick the IOC into lifting sanctions." The previous incident that Bidnyi is referring to was in 2024 when CAS upheld Russia's suspension that was imposed on those territorial integrity grounds, but now Ukraine has to appeal again during a time when more sporting leaders are mulling Russia's inclusion in their competitions. In racing, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile has lifted the ban that was imposed on Russians in motorsport while providing no explanation as to why. This decision allows Russian and Belarusian drivers, national teams, and officials to take part in all competitions without any restrictions.
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