THE IOC president Thomas Bachwho was accepted yesterday (8/6) by Emmanuel Macron in the Elysee Palaceconfirmed his desire to brings back Russians and Belarusians to world sportunder a neutral flag, on the sidelines of a meeting in the capital with refugee athletes.

Shortly after its meeting with the President of the French Republic, the IOC thanked Emmanuel Macron for his position during the last G7 in Hiroshima, Japan, “on the autonomy of sport and the participation conditions of athletes equipped with a Russian or Belarusian passport, statement which is in line with the recommendations of the IOC”.

According to the IOC’s press release, the two men also referred to the 2024 Paris Olympics and confirmed that the issue of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes “will be taken up in due course by the IOC.”

The following day, the IOC president, on the sidelines of a meeting with refugee athletes, once again referred to the conditions allowing the return of those banned from international competition by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“These are solitary and neutral athletes who can integrate. No Russian flag, no Russian anthem, no colors, no identification or anything,” Thomas Bach said, adding: “More and more international federations are now applying these terms and this formula. So in the end, I’m extremely confident that the spirit of sportsmanship and that unique fighting spirit will prevail.”

Following the IOC’s decision in March to support the return of Russians and Belarusians, the debate over the rehabilitation of these athletes remains “heated”. Fourteen months before the Paris Olympics, however, not all international federations are on the same page.