Ex-MMA fighter urged IOC to lift restrictions on Russian athletes

The new leadership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should lift restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes in international competitions. This was stated by former American MMA fighter and deputy of the State Assembly of the Republic of Bashkortostan Jeff Monson on January 4.

"The new IOC leadership will have to turn its face towards Russia. <...> I am convinced that the new IOC president will have to lift all restrictions on Russian athletes," he said in a conversation with TASS.

Monson stressed that the current leadership is making "politicized, illogical and disastrous for sport" decisions.

The election of the new IOC president will be held in March 2025 in Greece. There are seven candidates for the post, heading different international federations.

Earlier, on November 18, 2024, the head of the Russian Ministry of Sport Mikhail Degtyarev noted that Russia and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have converged in their views on the participation of Russian athletes in competitions. He specified that the dialogue with representatives of the organization is conducted in a non-public format through various channels.

On October 30, 2024, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that the current IOC president Thomas Bach politicized the Olympic movement, violating all international legal norms.

On the same day, Bach made a statement at the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) that the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) "was inevitable" because the committee and related organizations, according to him, had engaged in activities in Ukraine allegedly in violation of the Olympic charter.

Before that, on October 17, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was necessary to avoid splitting the international sports family and purify sports from vulgar politicization. The head of state noted that sports are now trying to make a platform for geopolitical games and imposing a neoliberal agenda.

In February 2022, the IOC recommended sports federations not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions. This happened after the announcement of the start of Russia's special military operation to protect the population of Donbass.

At the same time, in December 2023, the IOC allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris, held from July 26 to August 11, under strict conditions due to the special operation of the Russian Federation to protect Donbass. In particular, the athletes could not participate in team events, speak in support of the special operation, sign contracts with the armed forces and national security bodies, or display any national symbols.