IOC EB takes provisional measures against NOC of Belarus

Further to its decision of 25 November to start a formal procedure vis-a-vis the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus, and taking into consideration all the allegations and elements gathered during this ongoing investigation, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has adopted a number of provisional measures. They will be applicable until further notice or until such time as a new NOC Executive Board is elected in February 2021 by the NOC General Assembly. In view of the allegations and elements received by the IOC and the responses provided by the NOC of Belarus, the IOC has come to the conclusion that it appears that the current NOC leadership has not appropriately protected the Belarusian athletes from political discrimination within the NOC.

"This is contrary to the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter, and therefore seriously affects the reputation of the Olympic Movement," the IOC said in an official statement. The IOC EB have decided to exclude the currently elected members of the Executive Board of the NOC of Belarus from all IOC events and activities, including the Olympic Games. This includes in particular Alexander Lukashenko, in his capacity as NOC President and legal representative of the NOC; Viktor Lukashenko, in his capacity as NOC First Vice-President and the person responsible for the NOC's operations and activities on a daily basis; and Dmitry Baskov, in his capacity as an NOC Executive Board member and in view of the specific allegations raised against him.

This provision is not applicable to Tatiana Drozdovskaya, as she is an ex-officio athletes' representative on the Executive Board. The EB has also decided to suspend all financial payments to the NOC of Belarus, with the exception of payments related to the preparations of the Belarusian athletes for, and their participation in, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. All Olympic scholarships for Belarusian athletes will now be paid directly to the athletes, and no longer through the NOC. The IOC EB has also requested the relevant International Federations to make sure that all eligible Belarusian athletes can take part in qualification events for the upcoming Olympic Games without any political discrimination.

The IOC EB will to continue to monitor the situation and the body reserves the right to consider any further action or to remove any of these provisional measures depending on the evolution of the situation. (ANI)