German Interior Minister threatens to deny entry for Russian athletes

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is threatening to ban Russian athletes from entering the country if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows them to compete.

Source: European Pravda, citing ntv

Details: "Countries that host major sports events are not powerless. They can control whether Russians can participate in them by issuing visas," Faeser said.

"If we organise international competitions in Germany, we can act accordingly. Here we will always act with a clear position," she emphasised.

Opening international competitions to athletes from Russia would be "a slap in the face for Ukrainian athletes," Faeser emphasised.

"Offering the warmonger Putin a propaganda stage would mean betraying all the values of sport," the minister said.

On 28 March, the IOC Executive Committee adopted a recommendation to international sports federations to allow the Russian and Belarusian athletes to return [to compete – ed.], but set a number of conditions.

The conditions, in particular, stipulate that athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports compete only as neutral individual athletes.

In addition, athletes and personnel who actively support the war cannot compete. This includes anyone representing the Russian army or other state security institutions, as well as those who have publicly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It should be noted that these are recommendations, and the final decision will be made by the federations in individual sports.

The decision on the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the 2024 Olympics has not yet been considered.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticised the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.

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