Russian and Belarusian Paralympic athletes have been banned from attending the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from the Winter Paralympic Games because of their countries’ role in the war in Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Thursday.
The IPC changed its decision within 24 hours as it said earlier on Wednesday that Russian and Belarusian players would be allowed to participate as neutral players in games starting on Friday, using their country’s name and flag. could not use.
The IPC had to face criticism for this decision, after which it had to change its decision. The IPC also said that it was clear that many players would refuse to compete against Russia or Belarus, which would create a difficult situation at the Paralympics and would damage its reputation.
IPC President Andrew Persons said: “We have been contacted by a number of members over the past 12 hours. He said that if we do not reconsider our decision, it may have dire consequences.
After reversing its decision, the IPC now joins football, track and field, basketball, hockey and other sports that have placed total bans on players from Russia and Belarus.