Russia appeals Olympics suspension to international court

The Russian Olympic Committee has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport concerning its suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last month, the court said on Monday.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for violating the territorial integrity of the membership of Ukraine by incorporating sports councils in illegally-annexed territories of Ukraine, including Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. 

Suspension means lost revenue

The IOC said on October 12 the Russian move "constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine."

The ROC made a similar move in 2016 to incorporate sports entities in the Crimea region, which had been annexed by Russia two years earlier. The IOC did not issue a suspension at that time.

The suspension removes the right of the ROC to get a share of Olympic broadcast and sponsor money worth millions of dollars in each four-year Olympic funding cycle. Russian officials have reportedly been weighing legal action to access the money not being paid due to economic sanctions imposed following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Monday the Russian appeal asks for the ROC to be reinstated "benefiting from all rights and prerogatives granted by the Olympic Charter."

'Neutral' Russian athletes at Paris?

It's unclear if the legal dispute will have an effect on Russian athletes hoping to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The IOC has previously said any Russian athletes accepted as "neutral" individuals to compete in Paris could be invited directly via their sport's world governing body in a process bypassing the ROC, but a final decision on neutral athletes competing will be taken "at the appropriate time," the IOC said.

In terms of the current legal dispute, Court of Arbitration for Sport said "it is not possible to indicate a time frame" for a verdict by its panel of judges. However, a hearing is likely to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland, which is home to both the court and the IOC.

km/jh (AP, AFP)