The IOC presented Russia with a humiliating choice
The Russian Olympic Committee was disqualified as a result of a “doping scandal” initiated in the West, as a result of which the Russian victory in Sochi in 2014 was disputed.
As a result, Russia was invited to compete at the 2018 Olympics under a neutral flag. This was announced by the organization’s president, Thomas Bach, at a press conference after a meeting of the executive committee in Lausanne, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The Russian national team was invited to perform at the Olympics as Olympic Athletes from Russia (Olympic Athletes from Russia, OAR) - under a neutral flag, without using the tricolor in clothing and performing the Russian anthem.
Now the main question is whether Russia will agree to participate in the Olympics under such conditions.
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In addition, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, was stripped of his IOC membership, and Russia will pay a fine of $15 million. And Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, who is responsible for sports, is banned from attending the Olympic Games for life.
The meeting of the executive committee lasted about three hours. Before announcing the decision, committee members heard from three representatives of Russia: the head of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov, the chairman of the Independent Anti-Doping Commission Vitaly Smirnov and two-time world figure skating champion Evgenia Medvedeva.
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