The decision was made on Thursday that Russia will not be allowed to compete in the Paralympics due to the attack on Ukraine. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) previously decided that you can still start under a neutral flag. But it will not come to that, also because the protests of the other nations were too great. Therefore, the Russian delegation wants to leave the Paralympics in Beijing. This step is also due to the fact that there is no chance of success with a lawsuit at the International Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS. Accordingly, the rules of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) would exclude this legal step.
The RPC called in leading Russian and foreign law firms to review the situation. “The IPC, in its sole discretion, may exclude any athlete from participation for any reason. In addition, the IPC constitution lacks an arbitration clause that would allow the RPC to appeal to the CAS,” the Russian statement said, citing point 2.9 of the IPC rulebook. However, the RPC reserved the right to appeal to “competent international and national courts” at a later date.
At the same time, the Russians have also criticized the IPC and IOC President Thomas Bach. “This decision is politically motivated, contradicts all postulates of the Paralympic movement and clearly shows that double standards in the modern Sport unfortunately has become the norm,” it said. Earlier this week, the IOC recommended international sports federations and organizers of sporting events to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international competitions. Bach’s move “leads to the degradation and collapse of world sport,” the RPC said.
