International Olympic Committee suspends Russian Olympic Committee with immediate effect

In a major development, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Russian Olympic Committee with immediate effect on Thursday, October 12. The decision was taken by the executive board of the international committee after the Russian Olympic Committee included the regional sports organisations which are officially part of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine on October 5.

Russian Olympic Committee included sports organisations from Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia which violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) constitutes territorial integrity in accordance with the Olympic Charter and the Russian Olympic Committee was found guilty of breaking the



rules.

The IOC Executive Board revealed that the IOC reserves the right to decide about the athletes' participation with a Russian passport during the Paris Olympics 2024 and the Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. 

"The Russian Olympic Committee is no longer entitled to operate as a National Olympic Committee, as defined in the Olympic Charter, and cannot receive any funding from the Olympic Movement. As stated in the IOC’s position and recommendations of 28 March 2023, which remain fully in place, the IOC reserves the right to decide about the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at the appropriate time," IOC statement said.