▲ Russian Olympic Committee
Nine European countries have called on international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to be cut off from European Union financial support after the IOC lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
According to reports including the European edition of Politico, sports ministers from nine European nations, including Sweden, issued a joint letter released on July 14 (local time), stating, "Organizations that act in ways inconsistent with EU values should not receive EU support."
On July 7, the IOC announced the provisional lifting of the suspension on the ROC, citing that "the ROC no longer has sports organizations under its authority in the regions belonging to the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine."
As a result, a path has been opened for Russian athletes to compete normally starting from the qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Russian athletes had previously been barred from team events and were only able to compete in the Olympics individually as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) after undergoing separate vetting. This was due to the IOC's suspension of the ROC in October 2023, following Russia's unauthorized integration of regional Olympic committees in the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia had occupied during the war.
Jakob Forssmed, Sweden's Minister for Social Affairs, emphasized, "The situation on the ground has not changed at all, and Russia is still waging a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine," adding, "EU funding programs or cooperation frameworks must not result in normalizing Russia's acts of aggression."
In addition to Sweden, sports ministers from Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, and Romania signed the letter.
In the letter, they pointed out, "As long as the war continues, Ukrainian athletes cannot train on equal terms with other athletes for international competitions, so restrictions on Russian athletes must be maintained," adding that "the proposition that sports can be separated from politics is merely an empty claim."
They further added that EU financial support should also be suspended for organizations such as World Aquatics and the International Gymnastics Federation, which have lifted bans on Russian athletes.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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