Russia loses appeal against Olympics body over suspension

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday dismissed Russia’s appeal against the International Olympic Committee’s decision to suspend its membership.

Last October, the IOC banned the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) effective immediately for breaching the Olympic Charter by claiming regional sports organizations in four occupied areas of Ukraine.

Sports organizations in these territories — Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia — are under the authority of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee, the IOC said.

The Russian Olympic Committee called the IOC’s suspension a “counterproductive decision with obvious political motivations” and filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in November.

But the court dismissed the appeal Friday, ruling that the board of the IOC “did not breach the principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality.”

As a consequence of the suspension, the Russian committee can’t operate as a National Olympic Committee and will not be able to receive any funding from the Olympic Movement.

Russian competitors in many sports could still be allowed to participate in this year’s Paris Olympics as so-called neutral athletes, without an accompanying national flag or anthem.

The Russian Olympic Committee could not immediately be reached for comment.