Wladimir Klitschko made new criticism of the IOC

Former heavyweight champion Vladimir Klichko continues to criticize the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its President Thomas Bach for refusing to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

In one of his last interviews with the Frankfurter Allgemeine, Klitschko criticized the IOC for its decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the Olympic Games, which, at the same time, must compete under neutral banners. For almost a year, Russia has been conducting a full-scale invasion of Ukraine with the support of Belarus.

“Thomas Bach talks all the time about the “neutrality” of the IOC, but the fact is that Thomas Bach is not neutral. He represents Russia's interests, not Olympic values. He has no right to stand under a white flag. Sports, business and politics have a lot in common with each other. The Olympic Games, in particular, have always been part of politics,” said Wladimir Klitschko.

“Speaking of colors, a white, neutral flag: there is a good proverb in German: “You must show your colors” (Man muss Farbe bekennen). There is no "if" or "but" here. Unfortunately, he does not represent Olympic values, but an aggressor, supports propaganda. Russian athletes who are part of the Russian Ministry of Defense and who have participated in international military championships have also competed in the Winter Olympics and are now planning to compete in the next summer games. Russian propaganda takes advantage of this.”

“You are unleashing an aggressor, a murderer and his representatives and accomplices onto the world stage. Those who still do business with Russia support the Russian army and contribute to the shelling of rockets that have been pouring into our cities for almost a year and killing our children. Soldiers rape our women. It's all connected. I have not yet seen any of the current Russian athletes publicly oppose the war. So they support her. And we have already seen athletes with the "Z" sign. They support this regime, this war, this propaganda,” Klitschko said.