Photo : Collected
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has called for African athletes not to be allowed to participate in the Russian Friendship Games in 2024, adding that France and other EU nations would support the event's boycott.
The official made the remarks during a telephone conversation with Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who claimed to be an "African politician."
Bach expressed the hope that the "African politician" with their authority would influence African states and African athletes at the higher political level and would make it clear to them that the Russian sports competition is presented as the Russian president’s contest.
The contest participants will be exposed to a high risk as Russia allegedly has no reliable anti-doping system, which would indirectly impact the African games, Bach added in the phone conversation.
He also said that French President Emmanuel Macron would fully support the initiative, as well as the rest of EU members, advising his interlocutor to issue a joint statement with the European Union, expressing their attitude towards the Russian competition.
The athletes planning to join the Russian-run games are risking their future opportunities to participate in other international sports events, such as the Olympics, Bach told the pranksters, adding that the Russian Friendship Games might undermine the entire sport system and are politicized.
There is a monitoring commission at the IOC level that is tasked with identifying those athletes who express support for the Russian government and are further banned from participating in the Olympic Games, Bach said, adding that the IOC has asked the Ukrainian side to share any information they have on such cases.
Messenger/Mumu
