Bah after the announcement from Russia: The politicization of sports was very harmful to society

The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, said that the politicization of sports would be very harmful and that he is closely monitoring countries that do not respect that principle, directly alluding to Russia.

Bach, during a visit to Montevideo on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Uruguayan Olympic Committee, told reporters that "he has great support from the international community for the unifying power of sports."

"I hope that the next debate on the Olympic Truce Resolution, which will be held in November at the United Nations, will bring us a new wave of support," Bach said and called for respect for the truce, whose tradition dates back to the ancient Games.

Bach pointed out that he is closely monitoring the attempts of certain countries to "politicize sports and replace sports competitions like the Olympics with events organized by the government."

He made the comments after Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that new "organizational and legal forms" in the form of leagues, associations and clubs would undermine the existing system and replace the monopoly of major international sports structures such as the IOC.

"This is a statement from Russia. We are following it closely, of course. We are convinced that the world will understand that the politicization of sports would be very harmful to society," Bach said, adding that the mission of sports was to organize competitions between nations that are politically friendly.

Last week, Putin accused the IOC of using the Olympics as an "instrument of political pressure" and of "ethnic discrimination" because of the limited number of Russian competitors who can compete in Paris next year.

The IOC, which has firmly rejected the allegations, must decide whether Russia and Belarus will be allowed to participate in the Paris Games. They have been banned from participating in international competitions since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

In March, however, the IOC recommended that individual athletes return to competitions under a neutral flag and under strict conditions, including that they did not support the war in Ukraine.

In September, the International Paralympic Committee allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the competition in Paris as neutral and under strict conditions.

This month, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee until further notice after the Russian body recognized the regional committees of the four Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia - Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporozhye.