We, the signatories to this petition, hereby request the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prevent Russian and Belorussian athletes from competing at the Summer Olympic Games in 2024. Furthermore we ask all National Olympic Committees to demand the same or else stand in solidarity with Ukraine and boycott the games.

The purpose of this petition is to bring pressure to bear on the International Olympic Committee to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

On Wednesday 22nd January 2023 the IOC said it would "explore a pathway" for athletes from the two countries to take part as neutrals. It is an announcement that has outraged many. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has said Russian athletes should have "no place" at the Paris Games. And in a statement issued a few days ago, the UK Government has condemned the plan stating that it is a "world away from the reality of war". Latvia's National Olympic Committee said the presence of the athletes would be an "encouragement for further escalation of warfare, and normalisation of war crimes and brutal violence". Latvia is the first country to announce that it will stand in solidarity with Ukraine and boycott the Games in the event that Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete.

History repeating itself…

On Wednesday 2nd March 2022, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was aided and abetted by Belarus. Shortly after this announcement, I began a petition, as did many others, to protest against the decision.

Just days before the Games opened, the IPC made a u-turn and reversed the decision announcing that Russian and Belarusian Paralympic athletes could not take part in the Paralympic Winter Games.

At the time of the decision I wrote:

It is regrettable that the change of heart appears to have been triggered by the pressure brought to bear by member states, international public opinion and fears for the safety of the Russian and Belarusian athletes. A statement from the IOC said the "situation in the athlete villages was untenable". It is highly disappointing that this is offered in explanation for the ‘about turn’ rather than a desire to align itself with the stance adopted by other governing sports bodies. It is saddening that although the right decision has been reached eventually, it wasn’t taken nearly quickly enough or for the right reasons. The world of Sport cannot be separated from Politics at a time of War. In future, it would be heartening to see the IOC and IPC take swift and decisive action when needed - to lead rather than to follow, if it really wishes to champion the fundamental principles and values that it professes to promote. The democratic world must stand in solidarity with Ukraine by decrying the outrages that are being committed there.

U-turn by the IOC

How incredibly disappointing and baffling it is therefore, less than a year later, (as war continues to rage in Ukraine), that the International Olympic Committee have reverted to their earlier position and meekly adopted a policy of general appeasement.

Last month, IOC president Thomas Bach, spoke of ‘not wishing to punish individual athletes for the actions of their governments. To my mind this is typical of the weak-minded liberal thinking that pervades much of society today - the idea that the so-called ‘rights of individuals’ is more sacrosanct than anything else, even when balanced against the outrage of war or global disaster. We need to prove the IOC president wrong, and demonstrate that thinking of this kind has no place in a civilised and democratic world. Banning athletes from participation has nothing to do with punishing individuals for the policies adopted by their parent countries. But it has everything to do with punishing the regimes of those countries and demonstrating that the atrocities committed by governments in their name, will not stand. Sanctions are making a difference and the world of Sport has just as important a role to play as the world of business and commerce.

Russia’s view

Authorities inside Russia have said ‘a campaign to exclude it from international sport will fail’. It is incumbent on all peace loving nations around the world to prove Russia wrong.

Can one sympathise with the dilemma that presently confronts the IOC? Possibly…

The last time Paris hosted the Summer Olympics was 1924. The VIII Olympiad was the last one organised under the presidency of Pierre de Coubertin. The founder of the modern Olympics believed passionately in inclusivity for all nations. He proclaimed: Wars break out because nations misunderstand each other. We shall not have peace until the prejudices that now separate the different races are outlived. To attain this end, what better means is there than to bring the youth of all countries periodically together for amicable trials of muscular strength and agility. De Coubertin also strenuously believed in the independence of the International Committee. We are merely the trustees of the Olympic idea, he famously stated about a movement which he hoped would stand impervious and impregnable against the forces of socioeconomic and geopolitical interest. But De Coubertin was an idealist. Idealism has little place in determining policy at times of war or force majeure. Only steely pragmatism and a desire to do the right thing will suffice. Never has the old adage that sometimes in life you have to choose between bad and badder, seemed more apposite. And lest we forget, the Modern Olympic Movement in spite of its lofty aspirations of independence, was closely aligned to the Peace Movement. Indeed more than half of the 78 honorary delegates listed on the official programme for the inaugural Olympic Congress that met at the Sorbonne on 16 June 1894, were directly engaged in the movement for peace. Five of those individuals and one organisation they represented - the International Peace Bureau - would be named among the first 13 winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The 1924 Olympic Games in Paris will forever be remembered, at least by the people of Great Britain, for the athletic achievements of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell whose exploits are immortalised in the 1981 film, ‘Chariots of Fire’. Liddell, famously, refused to compete in the 100 metres because it was held on a Sunday. As an observant Christian and man of deeply held convictions, it was unthinkable to put the pursuit of personal glory ahead of his religious principles. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see Russian and Belorussian athletes behaving with similar nobility and with the same personal and moral integrity.

The 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City are remembered for the actions of two American sprinters, Tommy Smith and John Carlos, who from the medals podium, raised a gloved fist in protest against civil rights abuses in America. The ‘black power salute’ as it has become known is now synonymous with the Black Power Movement. Both athletes were expelled from the Games and Smith insisted that their actions were misinterpreted as support for Black separatism. He said the protest was instead about fighting for human rights for Black people on a global scale. The demonstration is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympics.

Is it wrong for Sport to align itself with causes bigger and more important than itself?

It would seem not, otherwise phenomena like ‘Kick it Out’, an initiative to rid football of racism, (often symbolised by the ‘taking of the knee’ before games); ‘Rugby Against Racism’ which was set up to focus attention on black lives and racial equality; and ‘WeRaceAsOne‘, the movement of choice for racing drivers in Formula One; would not have garnered the support that they have. But gestures in themselves are not enough, nor is it reasonable to expect individual sportsmen and women to lead on this. Sometimes a governing body simply has to stand up and be counted; it has to pick a side.

In April 2022, the All England Club took the brave decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus from playing at Wimbledon in response to the invasion of Ukraine. To many it is deeply regrettable and regressive that the ATP and WTA responded to the All England Club's decision by stripping Wimbledon of any ranking points, saying the exclusion of players "undermined" the integrity of the tour.

Elina Svitolina, the Ukrainian former world number three tennis player who won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, has urged countries to be united in sanctions for Russia and Belarus. In a recent statement on Twitter, she said:

The Olympics are the biggest dream and ultimate privilege for athletes. They are the largest platform for inclusion and diversity in sports, capturing the attention of the world. With this in mind we must stick to banning Russian and Belarusian athletes... that we are united in the sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus and that there are consequences for the heinous acts of their governments. Their lives cannot continue as normal and the Russian and Belarusian people cannot be ignorant of the atrocities they are committing in Ukraine.

If you believe Svitolina is right, if you believe that the premise of this petition is correct, namely that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to compete at the Olympic Games whilst an illegal and terrible war is being waged in Ukraine, please sign and share this petition.

Thank you.

Ben Galloway, York. UK. 02.02.2023