The IOC president, Thomas Bach, has directly criticised Russia’s leaders – and told them that their “blatant violation” of the Olympic charter is the reason their country has been banned from the Paris Games.
Using unusually strong language that illustrates growing tensions with Moscow, Bach also attacked Russia for its “scandalous manipulation” of the anti-doping system at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. And he insisted the decision to only allow Russians who opposed the war to compete in Paris as neutral athletes – with no flag, anthem or insignia – was the right one.
