Russia’s appeal against suspension by International Olympic Committee dismissed

Russia’s appeal against the International Olympic Committee’s decision to suspend its membership has been dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) “with immediate effect” in October for “a breach of the Olympic charter”.

The ROC recognised regional organisations from four Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Russia since its full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The suspension by the IOC means the ROC is no longer entitled to operate as a national Olympic committee.

Cas said: “The Cas panel in charge of this matter dismissed the appeal and confirmed the challenged decision, finding that the IOC executive board did not breach the principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality.

“The Cas panel’s decision is final and binding except for the parties’ right to file an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days on limited grounds.”

Olympic councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia had been recognised by the ROC.

In December, the IOC announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes who have qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics will be allowed to participate as neutrals.

The conditions of their inclusion include competing without flags, emblems or anthems of their country.