● From our sister site, TheSportsExaminer.com ●
If the International Olympic Committee thought things were difficult a month ago, they are much worse now.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022 is continuing with no end in sight, and the IOC is embroiled in a bitter argument with Western governments that see no reason to allow any athletes from Russia or its ally Belarus to appear at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The IOC has gathered all kinds of support from various corners, from friendly United Nations human rights rapporteurs, declarations of various multi-government conferences, and, departing from its usual ultra-diplomatic language, expressed its view in its “Q&A regarding the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions”:
“It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic Movement or the autonomy of sport which they are requesting from other countries, and are praising in countless speeches and UN and European Union resolutions. …
“We have not seen a single comment from them about their attitude towards the participation of athletes whose countries are involved in the other 70 wars, armed conflicts and crises in the world.”
Things have changed.
With the Hamas attacks on Israel beginning on 7 October, a new and dangerous war has broken out. It’s the second real shooting war in the world today; everything else is conflicts on paper and diplomatic talks.
And the Hamas attacks, widely understood to be masterminded by Iran, have had immediate consequences in sport. On Sunday, United World Wrestling posted this:
“United World Wrestling expresses its deep disappointment to announce that Team Iran after sudden diplomatic crisis has been denied visas by Albania for the U23 World Championships in Tirana, scheduled to take place from October 23 to 29.
“Both the Albanian Wrestling Federation and UWW worked tirelessly to facilitate the necessary visa issuance for all participating teams, including the Iranian wrestlers. Despite the efforts, the authorities denied Team Iran its right to participate in the tournament.
“UWW stands with all wrestlers and remains committed to making the sport inclusive to every country and will take a more in-depth look at the matter going forward.”
Albania is a Muslim-majority country of 2.8 million people that has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1949, but broke off relations with Iran in September 2022, alleging a major cyberattack by the Iranians.
So Albania, a country of 2.8 million, thumbed its nose at Iran, with a population of 88 million.
The autonomy of sport didn’t mean much to the Albanians.
And there is the behavior of China at the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou, a showcase for the host country, with 383 medals and more gold medals (201) than any other country won in total medals.
But the Chinese refused to issue standard entry visas for three Indian Wushu participants from Arunachal Pradesh, a state in northeast India, which China claims is part of Tibet. Instead, temporary visas were issued which are not considered valid by the Indian government.
It was reported by the Indian site RevSportz that IOC Director of National Olympic Committee Relations and Olympic Solidarity James MacLeod (GBR) told reporters:
“Our principle, and this is a principle that doesn’t only apply now at the Asian Games but it applies every day, everywhere, across the world, is that all athletes should have a free and unfettered access to sports competitions regardless of their nationality and regardless of the passport that they hold.
“That is a principle that we as the IOC continuously uphold and we will talk to all different parties within the Olympic Movement but also Governments to ensure that that principle is upheld. In this case we are aware of the situation.
“It is a matter for the Olympic Council of Asia, and we know that there are discussions between the OCA and the hosts of the Asian Games to hopefully try and resolve this situation.”
The issue was hardly new, as Inside The Games reported that the same three Wushu athletes were denied standard visas in exactly the same manner for the World University Games held in Chengdu (CHN) in July.
MacLeod’s reference to the OCA, as the owner of the Asian Games, points out the complete power imbalance between sports organizations and countries at events of all sizes.
At the Asian Games, the North Koreans re-appeared at a multi-sport Games for the first time since before the pandemic and won 39 medals, including 11 golds. Despite its status as non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency for not making its athletes available for testing during the pandemic, the North Korean flag was flown at the Opening Ceremony, and at victory ceremonies.
India’s Randhir Singh, the Olympic Council of Asia’s interim head, told reporters:
“North Korea also has written to WADA as well, explaining their position. We are explaining it from our side as well. At present the North Korea flag is flying, and we will look into it and see what the future says.”
Is there any doubt that China desired to let the North Korean flags be displayed? WADA issued a statement that included:
“WADA takes this matter extremely seriously and has written to the OCA on several occasions before and after the opening ceremony of the Games, explaining in clear terms the possible consequences that could arise for the OCA if this matter is ignored.”
But in fact, when events are held in countries that don’t care what the IOC or WADA or United World Wrestling thinks, their requirements don’t apply any more. And that’s dangerous, from multiple angles.
And lest we forget, the Australian state of Victoria walked away from a signed contract to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in July, saying the costs had risen too high. True, they paid a negotiated exit fee of A$380 million (about $242.13 million U.S.), but with less than three years to go, the Commonwealth Games – nearing its centennial in 2030 – has no host and leaner and leaner prospects.
IOC President Thomas Bach of Germany has called this period of history “aggressively divisive,” and he’s quite right. He and the IOC, WADA and every other sports governing body now face the question of in which countries – if any – will their rules and regulations be followed when they are determined not to be in the interest of the host government, sometimes years down the road.
~ Rich Perelman
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