GENEVA: International sports bodies moved to further isolate Russia on Monday for its invasion of Ukraine and pushed Moscow closer to becoming a pariah on the playing field.

The International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies to exclude Russian athletes and officials from international events, including football’s World Cup.

Athletes from Ukraine and other nations had called on the IOC to take action after Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea last week following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin.

The IOC said on Monday its executive board made the decision “in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants”.

The Russian Olympic Committee categorically disagreed with the IOC, saying the decision “contradicts both the regulatory documents of the IOC and the (Olympic) Charter”.

The IOC’s statement came shortly before the Winter Paralympics, which start in Beijing on Friday. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) will meet on Wednesday to discuss Russia ahead of the Games.

The decision opened the way for FIFA, the governing body of football, to exclude Russia from the World Cup ahead of qualifying playoff on March 24. Poland already has refused to play the scheduled game against Russia.

It was unclear how the IOCs request will affect Russian hockey players in the NHL and tennis players, including top-ranked Daniil Medvedev, in Grand Slam, ATP and WTA tournaments outside the authority of the International Tennis Federation.

Reuters, the Associated Press and AFP reported that FIFA was in talks with European soccer body UEFA on the details of suspending Russia’s national and club teams and a decision could be made later on Monday, citing sources with knowledge of the talks.

With a direct impact on Russia playing World Cup qualifiers next month, FIFA already said on Sunday it was talking to the IOC about excluding the country from competitions should the situation not be improving rapidly.

The IOC also went directly after President Vladimir Putin, who turned the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics into a personal project. Putin’s golden Olympic Order, which was awarded in 2001, has been withdrawn, the IOC said in a statement.

The Olympic body’s call also applied to athletes and official from Belarus, which has abetted Russia’s invasion by allowing its territory to be used to station troops and launch military attacks.

The organisation went on to praise the “many calls for peace by athletes, sports officials and members of the worldwide Olympic Community”.

“The IOC admires and supports in particular the calls for peace by Russian athletes,” it added.

Prominent Russian sports stars have not been shy in voicing their disquiet over Putin’s invasion.

Andrey Rublev, who won the Dubai ATP title on Saturday, veteran Russian football international Fedor Smolov, United States-based ice hockey great Alex Ovechkin and cyclist Pavel Sivakov, who rides for the Ineos team have all expressed a desire for peace.

If international federations follow the IOC’s advice en masse Russia would join the Yugoslavia of Slobodan Milosevic and South Africa under apartheid rule as major sporting pariahs.

Badminton’s world governing body (BWF) cancelled all sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus, adding that no other badminton tournaments will be allocated to those regions until further notice.

Ukraine’s motorsports federation called on Formula One’s governing FIA to ban all Russian and Belarusian license holders from taking part in its competitions, which if accepted could put Russia’s Nikita Mazepin out of the sport.

Swimming’s global governing body FINA called off the World Junior Swimming Championships that were set to take place in Kazan and said that it would provide whatever support it could to members of the aquatics family impacted by Russia’s invasion.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian Tennis Federation urged the sport’s governing body the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to immediately expel Russia and Belarus from the organisation and ban Russia from team and individual tournaments.

Finland wants the Russian hockey team banned from the men’s world championships it will host in May while the Swiss football federation said its women’s team will not play Russia in July at the European Championship.

Over the weekend, FIFA declined to ban Russia from the World Cup. Instead, it said the country’s national team will have to compete under the name of its federation, the Football Union of Russia as punishment. Besides Poland, potential opponents Sweden and the Czech Republic have said they would refuse to take the field against Russia.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2022