President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Vadim Gutzeit criticized the decision of the International Olympic Committee to lift the restriction on the participation of Russian athletes in international competitions. The head of the NOC said that he considers this step wrong and called for continued work with international federations to maintain the current restrictions.

In an exclusive comment for Suspilne, Gutzeit admitted that the news caused him disappointment. According to him, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly raised this issue at meetings with IOC representatives and opposed the return of Russians to the international arena.

“Unfortunately, the IOC’s decision is shameful, of course, I do not support it. I talked with colleagues from the Latvian and Lithuanian NOCs about this issue: everyone is upset. But we need to move on. The International Olympic Committee has decided to abdicate its responsibility and transfer this responsibility to the international federations,"

The head of the NOC recalled that after the outbreak of a full-scale war, Ukraine worked with international sports organizations, seeking to prevent athletes from Russia and Belarus from entering. According to him, thanks to the position of a number of federations, representatives of these countries were represented in limited numbers at the Olympic Games in Paris and Milan.

As an example, Gutzeit cited the position of World Athletics, which maintained the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes both under national flags and in a neutral status.

At the same time, he noted that Ukraine does not yet have a clear mechanism that would prevent the possible return of Russian athletes under the state flag to the Olympics in Los Angeles. According to the NOC President, the admission process is gradual: first, restrictions for Belarusian athletes were relaxed, and now similar decisions are being made regarding Russians.

Despite the withdrawal of recommendations, the IOC has not yet announced the full return of Russian athletes to the Olympic Games with national symbols, including the flag and anthem. Final decisions on this issue will depend on the international federations and the further policy of the Olympic movement.