Russia and its ally Belarus successfully overturned the suspension of membership of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) through an appeal on the 12th. However, Russian and Belarusian athletes are still banned from competitions run by the IPC.
The IPC said on the 12th that the Independent Appeals Tribunal had ruled that “in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the 10th, IPC member states should have considered more evidence before deciding to suspend the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic organization in November last year.”
The IPC said the decision was “technical” and that some of the evidence the tribunal heard was unavailable at the time of last year’s decision. “We certainly respect the 카지노사이트 ruling, but we do not agree,” said IPC Commissioner Andrew Parsons.
This issue will be considered again by IPC members in September. The September meeting is expected to consider the IPC’s approach to Russian and Belarusian athletes preparing for the Paralympic Games in Paris next year.
Despite the ruling, the IPC’s policy of not allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the six sports directly managed by the IPC, including track and field, ice hockey and swimming, does not change. The different sports in the Paralympic program are governed separately according to the various federations’ own policies.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus arrived in Beijing for the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games in March, but were banned from participating the day before the opening ceremony. The IPC tried to include them as neutral players, but reversed its policy after threats of a boycott from other countries.