Fear of Putin propaganda coup if his athletes compete at Paris Olympics
ALLOWING Russian athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics under a neutral flag would be a propaganda coup for Vladimir Putin,
MPS have been warned.
And Alex Sobel said: “Any involvement of Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral flag is a backwards step.”
In a letter to MPS urging them to oppose the move, Mr Sobel, who co-chairs the Ukraine All-party Parliamentary Group, also said: “More than 400 Ukrainian athletes are believed to have been killed on the battlefield since the full-scale invasion”.
His appeal follows a reported government U-turn over its policy of opposing Russian athletes competing at all, even under a neutral flag.
Sports minister Stuart Andrew has written to International Olympic
Committee President Thomas Bach confirming the UK is willing to support the participation of Russian and Belarusians as “neutrals” at this summer’s Games.
Britain faced an international backlash in 2022 when the All England Lawn Tennis Club banned all Russian and Belarusian nationals from competing in Wimbledon, arguing it was in line with the Government’s efforts to “limit Russia’s global influence”.
But the recent softening towards Olympic athletes has been slammed by Labour MP Mr Sobel. His letter added: “Allowing this would undermine the integrity of the Games and send the wrong message in the face of ongoing aggression against Ukraine.”
APPG committee co-chair Bob Seely added: “The idea sport is irrelevant to warfare is nonsense. It is important to Russia. The evidence suggests it’s something Putin really cares about.”