Bringing Back Russia & Belarus

It's been 10 years since Russia was banned by World Athletics.  The country's doping problems that led to their track & field ban eventually resulted in the Russian Olympic Committee being suspended, as well.  At the last three Winter Olympics, in fact, they've competed under three different names (Russia in 2014, "Olympic Athletes from Russia" in 2018, "ROC" in 2022).  In Milan Cortina, there will be a fourth name--"Individual Neutral Athletes."

Russia's doping suspension is long over.  Their current status is a result of their invasion of Ukraine, which happened almost immediately after the 2022 Olympics concluded.  Belarus was also included for their role in supporting the invasion.  For the last four years, only select Russian and Belarusian athletes have been approved for neutral status, where they aren't allowed to use their country's flag, name or national colors.  They've both been completely excluded from team sports.

While Russia's flag and anthem are still banned by WADA because of RUSADA's non-compliance with World Anti-Doping Code, their current IOC suspension is because they violated the Olympic Charter.  More specifically, the Russian Olympic Committee annexed a handful of regional Olympic Councils in occupied Ukrainian cities.  The ban is indefinite, and you'd have to figure it will extend at least until the war is over.

Those bans can't (and won't) go on forever.  And we've already seen Russia and Belarus slowly start becoming integrated back into the Olympic family.  It's up to each international federation, and some have been more willing than others to welcome them back.  They're both still banned entirely by World Athletics, while there were a number of Russians and Belarusians competing at this year's World Aquatics Championships.  And, of course, tennis and hockey players from the two countries never stopped playing.

So far, Individual Neutral Athletes have qualified for Milan Cortina in four sports.  Seven Russians will compete in cross country skiing, figure skating, short track speed skating and ski mountaineering.  There will also be two Belarusian women--one in cross country skiing and another in figure skating.  That number will likely go up over the next six weeks as qualifying wraps up in the various sports.  Although, there will be no Russian hockey team in either the men's or women's tournament.

Eventually, Russia and Belarus will be welcomed back into the world sporting family.  Russia, especially, is too important to be permanently excluded.  There are many European nations that don't necessarily agree.  The wounds from the Russian doing scandal are still fresh and too deep.  But I think even they realize it's inevitable that Russians will once again be competing under their own banner and playing in team sports.  The question is really how and when they'll be reincorporated.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry may have given us a clue as to how that'll happen.  At the Olympic Summit last week, she suggested starting small, encouraging international federations to allow youth teams and athletes to compete under the national flag and anthem.  The IOC statement said that athletes "have a fundamental right to access sport across the world, and to compete free from political interference or pressure from government organizations."  Her argument is, basically, that athletes who have nothing to do with the war shouldn't be penalized just because of what country they're from.

Coventry also acknowledged that this reintegration can take time.  It'll be up to the sporting bodies to define what constitutes a "youth" event.  And there will likely be resistance from some national federations, especially in Europe.  But it's still a glimmer of hope, and Russia could very well compete under its own identity at next year's Youth Olympics in Senegal.

This isn't the first time it's been suggested that Russian youth athletes should be allowed to represent their country.  In 2023, UEFA moved to allow the Russian U-17 team back into its competitions.  However, they had to reverse course after numerous UEFA members threatened to boycott.  Whether the IOC receives similar pushback remains to be seen.

FIFA's on the verge of doing something similar.  The FIFA Council announced a new under-15 event to begin next year that will be "open to all 211 FIFA member associations," including Russia & Belarus.  The boys' tournament is scheduled for next year, with the girls' tournament set for 2027.  Gianni Infantino's stance is basically the same as Kirsty Coventry's: "Young athletes should always be able to participate in sports competitions and not be excluded based on the political situation in their country."

Of course, the same possibility exists that some teams might just refuse to play Russia, which would obviously complicate things.  Some within the European soccer community wonder how practical it would be to readmit Russia without some sort of political settlement in place.  It's worth noting, however, that despite being banned from participating in their tournaments, Russia has maintained its membership in both FIFA and UEFA.  The federation isn't suspended like the Russian Olympic Committee is.

Regardless of when Russia's readmitted to world sport in full, there will be resistance.  That resistance, which is to be expected, can't be used to determine the timing, though.  Because if they were to wait until every other country in the world is on board, Russia would never be welcomed back.  And that's a preposterous thing to even suggest.  Which is why they just need to suck it up and reinstate Russia and Belarus and deal with whatever pushback they receive.

Do I support a full readmission of Russia and Belarus right now?  Not really.  I think the stance that's been taken where the war needs to end before it can even be considered is the right one.  The doping suspension is over, so you can't use that as the reason anymore.  If not for the war, they would've been readmitted already.

And, make no mistake, Russia and Belarus will eventually make a full return to international sport.  When that happens and what it'll look like remain to be seen.  But it will happen at some point.  And starting small by letting youth athletes back into the fold is a reasonable first step.  Then, by the time those youth athletes are seniors in a few years, the country will be fully integrated.  At that point, Russia will have been excluded from international sport for more than a decade and a return would, in some ways, feel overdue.  As long as the war is over, that is.