(ATR) Amid calls for the IOC to condemn Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law, president Jacques Rogge says the IOC is waiting for clarifications before taking a stand.
Rogge said the IOC received written reassurances from Dmitry Kozak, the deputy prime minister and Olympic supervisor, on Thursday. The law has cast a shadow over preparations for the 2014 Sochi Games, with some groups calling for a boycott. It is also being discussed on the eve of the 2013 World Championships in athletics.
"We studied it this morning," Rogge said Friday following a joint meeting between the IOC Executive Board and the IAAF Council in Moscow. "There are still uncertainties and we have decided to ask for more clarifications as of today. We are waiting for final clarification before final judgment on these reassurances."
He said the problem stems from the English translation of a couple of paragraphs in the Russian law. "We want to be sure to understand the law well."
Rogge said he could not comment on how the IOC would react if an athlete makes a protest in Sochi. The Olympic Charter prohibits political gestures by athletes.
"That is definitely something that has to be considered case by case, so I cannot give you a generic answer," Rogge said.
Once the IOC understands the law, Rogge said, "We are prepared to abide by the Olympic Charter. The Olympic Charter is very clear. It says that sport is a human right and should be available to all regardless."
He added that the Charter states that the Games themselves should be open to all, free of discrimination.
When the law, which bans propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations, was enacted in June, Rogge said the IOC received assurances from Kozak, but asked for them in writing.
"As far as freedom of expression is concerned, this is something that is important," Rogge said, but reiterated that the IOC cannot comment on the law yet.
"I understand your impatience to get the full picture," he told reporters, "but there are too many uncertainties in the text and we want them clarified before we make the final decision."
Reported by Karen Rosen in Moscow
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
