On Thursday, the International Olympic Committee suspended Russia's membership "with immediate effect."
The International Olympic Committee said in a statement: “The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on October 5, 2023 to include regional sports organizations subject to the Ukrainian Olympic Committee (Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporozhye) constitutes a violation of the Olympic Charter.
This decision automatically deprives the Russian Olympic Games of international Olympic funding, but has no consequences for the possible participation of Russian athletes under a neutral flag in the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 and the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina in 2026.
The Russian Olympic Committee denounced the suspension of its activities and commented: “The International Olympic Committee has taken a new decision that is counterproductive and has clear political motives. The Russian athletes, most of whom were suspended from international participation without any reason, were not affected in any way by this step.”
The International Olympic Committee considered the special Russian military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 to be a violation of the Olympic Truce related to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, recommending that international sports federations suspend competitions on Russian territory and ban their symbols such as the flag and the national anthem.
Last March, the International Olympic Committee recommended the reintegration of Russian and Belarusian athletes into international competitions under a neutral banner.
A new scandal shakes Italian football
The Italian police opened an investigation into the Azzurri duo, Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo, players from Newcastle and Aston Villa, respectively, in what was said to be an “illegal betting case.”
The Newcastle and Aston Villa players spoke to the Turin police, accompanied by the head of the Italian national team delegation, Gianluigi Buffon: both are now under investigation by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office.
A statement issued by the Federation said: “The Federation announces that late this afternoon, the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office sent investigation documents to the players Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo, who are currently training with the national team at the Federal Technical Center in Coverciano.”
This happens after being accused about possible involvement in illegal betting.
Aston Villa and Newcaste players have both left Italy training camp after speaking to the police.
After the interview with the police, both Tonali and Zignolo will miss the matches against Malta and England scheduled for October 14 and 17, respectively. The union itself announced this.
The statement added: “Regardless of the nature of the actions, and believing that the players in this case are not in the necessary condition to face the obligations scheduled in the next few days, the Federation has also decided, to protect them, to allow them to return to their clubs.”
This comes in the wake of the outbreak of a similar case in Italy against Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli. It has not been officially announced whether the case is the same or not, but it appears that the matter is closely related to the Fagioli incident, given that the Turin police are the ones investigating the two incidents.