Moscow Says Calls to Ban Russian Athletes from Olympics ‘Unacceptable’

The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, May 17, 2022. (Reuters)
The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, May 17, 2022. (Reuters)
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Moscow Says Calls to Ban Russian Athletes from Olympics ‘Unacceptable’

The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, May 17, 2022. (Reuters)
The Olympic rings are pictured in front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, May 17, 2022. (Reuters)

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said on Saturday that calls from ministers of more than 30 countries to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics were unacceptable, TASS news agency reported.

A group of 35 countries, including the United States, Germany and Australia, will demand that Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from the 2024 Olympics, Lithuania's sports minister said on Friday, deepening the uncertainty over the Paris Games.

The move cranks up the pressure on an International Olympic Committee (IOC) that is desperate to avoid the sporting event being torn asunder by the conflict unfolding in Ukraine.

"This is a direct interference of ministers in the activities of independent international sports organizations, an attempt to dictate the conditions for the participation of athletes in international competitions, which is absolutely unacceptable," Matytsin was quoted as saying by TASS.

The IOC has opened the door for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals.

It has said a boycott would violate the Olympic Charter and that its inclusion of Russians and Belarusians was based on a United Nations resolution against discrimination within the Olympic movement.

"Now we see an undisguised desire to destroy the unity of international sports and the international Olympic movement, to make sport a means of pressure to resolve political issues," Matytsin was quoted as saying.

The RIA Novosti news agency also reported that Matytsin described as "humiliating" a proposal by Polish Sports Minister Kamil Bortniczuk to create a team of refugees that would include Russian and Belarusian dissidents.



Manchester United’s Amorim: 'I Will Not Have Time, I Have to Get it Right, Fast'

Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Manchester United - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - April 1, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Manchester United - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - April 1, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim REUTERS/Chris Radburn
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Manchester United’s Amorim: 'I Will Not Have Time, I Have to Get it Right, Fast'

Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Manchester United - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - April 1, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Soccer Football - Premier League - Nottingham Forest v Manchester United - The City Ground, Nottingham, Britain - April 1, 2025 Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim REUTERS/Chris Radburn

Ruben Amorim insisted he will not be given much time to turn things around as Manchester United manager, as his team slumped to another defeat at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
Former United forward Anthony Elanga's fine early goal earned Forest a comfortable win at the City Ground, with the visitors slipping to their 13th defeat of the season in the Premier League.
Tuesday's loss takes United to within one of their record of 14 Premier League defeats in the 2023-24 season, leaving them languishing down in 13th in the table as Amorim struggles to instigate any real change.
"In Manchester United, you don't have the time," Amorim said. "I will not have the time. We have to get it right fast.
"In here, the pressure is too big sometimes. We start the game suffering a goal and put Nottingham in the place they want to be - defending with lots of men - then they have really fast players to make transitions.
"Even with that, we controlled the game quite well, especially in the second half. We push forward but again, in the final third, we were not good enough."
Alejandro Garnacho was especially wasteful in attack for United, finishing the match having had six of United's 24 shots at goal, without really testing Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.
Amorim has defended the young Argentine in the past, and again insisted Garnacho's overall efforts are of the standard required.
"He is making everything," Amorim added, according to Reuters. "He's trying. Sometimes you have one day that you are doing the right things, but in the final third, you are not that good, that can happen.
"The most important thing for me is that when he needs to run back, he is running back. Of course we want a player that has one against one. Sometimes he is trying too much.
"I think he wants to help the team to do his best, sometimes he doesn't make the best choice, but you cannot point to any player today."