The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is allegedly considering banning the playing of the Russian national anthem during the Winter Games in Pyeongchang as a reaction to the state doping scandal. According to the New York Times, which cites those involved in the deliberations, the exclusion of the Russian team from the opening ceremony on 9 September is one of the possible sanctions. February.
A decision on Russia’s question will be taken between the 5th and 10th of January. and 7. It is expected to take place in Lausanne on 12 December when the Executive Committee of the IOC meets under German President Thomas Bach in Lausanne. Two IOC commissions are currently investigating the Russian doping scandal.
The former Swiss politician Samuel Schmid’s work deals with the question of the involvement of Russian politicians and authorities. According to Canadian law professor Richard McLaren, who led a special investigation of the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA, more than 1000 Russian athletes have benefited for years from a state-orchestrated doping system.
The cases of the 28 Russian athletes who, according to McLaren, benefited from manipulation during the Winter Games in Sochi in 2016 are currently being investigated by the Commission under the supervision of Schmids compatriot Denis Oswald. Last Wednesday, the first two cross-country skiers, including 50 km Olympic champion Alexander Legkov, were banned from the Olympic Games for life. A reason for the decision is still pending.
After these measures Russia had increased the pressure on the IOC. On Saturday, the Russian professional ice hockey league KHL threatened to block all players, including numerous foreigners, for the winter games in South Korea.
“These are all premature speculations before the two IOC commissions have even completed their work and before the rule of law the following procedures have taken place, to which every person and every organisation is entitled,”said an IOC spokesman on request.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had recently said that a complete ban or the start under a neutral flag would be “a humiliation of the country”. Alexander Zhukov, President of the National Olympic Committee of Russia, had made it even clearer:”Under a neutral flag, Russians will not compete in the Olympic Games.