The CAS confirms the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee by the IOC

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) considers the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) by the IOC “the principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality are not violated”so it accepts the decision of the international organization as good and sustains punishment.

The highest sports arbitration body reported this Friday of denying the appeal presented by the ROCfollowing the suspension decided by the IOC Executive on October 12, 2023.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) took this sanctioning measure after including the Russian committee “unilaterally” to its members in several regional sports organizations under the authority of the Olympic Committee of Ukraine.

In particular, it took control of sports organizations Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhiawhich in the opinion of the IOC constitutes a violation of the Olympic Charter for violation “the territorial integrity of the Committee of Ukraine.”

ROC filed an appeal with CAS to seek restoration of its duties and continued benefits “with all the rights and prerogatives granted by the Olympic Charter.”

The CAS decision to reject the appeal and uphold the penalty “is final and binding, except for the right of the parties to file an appeal with the Swiss Federal Court within 30 days,” the court said.

Suspension implies loss of ROC recognition and the inability to receive Olympic Movement funds.

Once the sanction is approved, the IOC reserves the right to make any future decisions regarding the participation of Russian athletes in the Paris Olympic Games. Today, athletes who meet certain conditions -not in the army, did not support the invasion of Ukraine- take part in the qualifying tournaments for the Paris 2024 Games, but in individual disciplines and without their national symbolsunder the name of ‘Individual Neutral Athletes’.