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IOC Urges FINA & Other International Federations To Cancel All Events In Russia Or Belarus; LEN Scraps Russian Competitions

The International Olympic Committee – IOC – as urged Sports federations, including FINA, to cancel all events scheduled to take place in Russia or Belarus in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Fina is due to host several events in Russia this year and was urged by SOS to cancel them all yesterday. Today it followed the IOC direction in part, cancelling water polo and synchronised swimming events scheduled for Russia in March and April but it left its World swimming championships, junior and senior, bound for Kazan in August and December, “under close review”.

At the same time, the European Swimming League issued a statement expressing its solidarity with Ukraine and her athletes and cancelling all events scheduled to be held in Russia.

In a statement, the IOC failed to mention the word that must be used – war – but gave a green light to international federations to cancel and make alternative arrangements for any events scheduled to take place in Russia or its co-aggressor in the plan to attack Ukraine, Belarus:

The IOC EB today urges all International Sports Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus. They should take the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarussian governments into account and give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority. The IOC itself has no events planned in Russia or Belarus.

Red warning on the water – image by Patrick B. Kraemer

Further, the IOC urged federations to drop the use of the flags of Russia and Belarus even at events not covered by the existing sanction against Russia.

The IOC’s latest statement provided a hint that the cosy relationship that Olympic sports governance has had with Putin and his Russian regime is over.

LEN’s statement reads:

The Board of European Aquatics (LEN) would like to express our strong support and solidarity with Ukraine’s athletes in these unprecedented times.

LEN believes in the spirit of sport, which brings nations together in a peaceful way, and strongly condemns all acts of violence. We urge all parties to work quickly on securing a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. LEN will now discuss, in a democratic manner, the best way to support Aquatics in this region.

In particular, all competitions, including the Women’s Euro League Quarter-final game, scheduled in Russia are postponed to a date and place to be confirmed.

LEN is working in close contact with representatives of the Ukraine Swimming Federation to ensure they have the necessary support.

Discussions about how to manage the impact of the crisis on upcoming competitions has been added to the agenda for discussion at the next LEN Bureau meeting.

Russian sport under continued scrutiny – image by Patrick B. Kraemer

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• Putin Putsch: FINA Must Cancel All Events In Russia To Guarantee Athlete Safety As No1 On 4-Point Priority Plan To Honour Olympic Charter “Neutrality” Key To Autonomy
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• Olympic & Anti-Doping Authorities Under Fire For Allowing 15-Year-Old To Be Shield For ‘Country That Systematically Dopes Its Athletes’ But Plays A Broken System
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The IOC statement in full

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reiterated today the IOC’s strong condemnation of the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus through its support in this. The respective UN resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 2 December 2021 by consensus of all 193 UN Member States. The Olympic Truce began seven days before the start of the Olympic Games, on 4 February 2022, and ends seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games.

The IOC EB today urges all International Sports Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus. They should take the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarussian governments into account and give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority. The IOC itself has no events planned in Russia or Belarus.

In addition, the IOC EB urges that no Russian or Belarussian national flag be displayed and no Russian or Belarussian anthem be played in international sports events which are not already part of the respective World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sanctions for Russia. 

At the same time, the IOC EB expresses its full support to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for the upcoming Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. 

The IOC EB expresses its deep concerns about the safety of the members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine and stands in full solidarity. It notes that the special IOC task force is in contact with the Olympic Community in the country to coordinate humanitarian assistance where possible. 

The IOC EB asks the task force to continue to closely monitor the situation and to keep the IOC EB informed and updated, also with regard to potential amendments of today’s resolution.

Today’s IOC statement builds on yesterday’s statement, which can be found here.