The Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne TD, has joined 33 other Sport Ministers from across Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania, in signing a statement calling for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reconsider its intention to develop a pathway for the renewed participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international sports competitions.
This follows on from the International Summit of Sports Ministers on Ukraine that Minister Byrne attended last Friday, 10 February.
Minister Byrne said:
“The deteriorating situation of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine makes it unreasonable to seriously contemplate the return to international sports competitions of athletes from Russia and Belarus.”
“Along with the other 33 countries that have signed up to this important and clear declaration, I sincerely wish that circumstances were different because sport should be for athletes from every nation competing fairly against each other. But we are not in normal times. We are not in a place that justifies the IOC planning for the return of both Russia and Belarus to international sport.”
“Pending an improved situation in Ukraine, I urge the sports movement to stay the course and continue to exclude those that are not respecting such important instruments in the international sporting landscape as the Olympic Truce”.
Russia and Belarus have been suspended from international competition since the IOC recommended, on 28 February 2022, that Russian and Belarussian athletes not be permitted to compete. This is the third statement to issue, and follows on from previous Ministerial statements issued on 8 March 2022 and 4 July 2022.
The 34 countries that have signed the statement are: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Rep, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the USA.
The new statement can be found below:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/30ee3-statement-on-russias-war-on-ukraine-and-international-sport-20-february-2023/
ENDS