IOC boss, Bach defends allowing Russians and Belarusians as neutrals at Paris Olympics

International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach has defended the decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutral at the 2024 Paris Games.

 “Individual athletes cannot be punished for the actions of their governments,” Thomas Bach told the BBC at a forum in Geneva.

“One war out of 28 wars and conflicts in the world and all the other athletes are competing peacefully,” he added.

Ukraine itself has hinted it may boycott the games, with President Volodomyr Zelensky saying Russian athletes “cannot be covered up with a pretence of neutrality”.

Bach said disagreeing countries were “allowed to have different political opinions” and dismissed threats of a boycott.