Athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to take compete at the upcoming Winter Paralympics in Beijing.
The International Paralympic Committee have given them the green light to participate despite the invasion of Ukraine.
However, it was stated that athletes from both countries will have to compete as neutrals and not be represented by their national flags.
The decision not to completely bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing is likely to draw criticism and raises the possibility of athletes from other countries boycotting the Games or staging protests.
Nadine Dorries, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has since said she is ‘extremely disappointed’ with the decision taken by the IPC.
She added that the ‘full range of options’ to protest the decision will be considered.
Athletes have arrived in Beijing ahead of the Games, with the opening ceremony on Friday and competition to begin on Saturday.
Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete under the Paralympic flag and any medals won will not be included in the medal table.
The IPC have confirmed that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete at the Winter Paralympics
The decision taken by the IPC has left other countries considering whether to boycott the games with protests being considered
‘The RPC (Russian Paralympic Committee) and NPC Belarus will participate as neutrals at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games,’ an IPC statement read.
‘They will compete under the Paralympic flag and not be included in the medal table.’
In their statement it was also confirmed the IPC will hold a general assembly this year to vote on whether to suspend or terminate the membership of the Russian and Belarus Paralympic committees.
They added that the IPC will not hold any events in either country until further notice.
A group of Ukrainian athletes wrote an open letter to the IOC and IPC on Sunday, calling for Russian and Belarusian competitors to be banned.
The British Olympic Association meanwhile posted a statement on Monday, demanding the exclusion of Russia and Belarus.
They wrote: ‘The British Olympic Association, together with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Germany, demands the immediate exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the international sports family until further notice.
‘We call on the international sports federations to ban athletes representing Russia and Belarus from competitions for the time being and to suspend Russian and Belarusian officials from their positions.
Ukraine athletes had wrote a letter asking for the exclusion of Russia and Belarus
Nadine Dorries says ‘the full range of options’ to protest the decision will be considered
‘We stand united with the people, athletes and the Olympic family of Ukraine, following this unacceptable and unwarranted declaration of war against them.’
In the aftermath of the decision from the IPC, Secretary for Sport, Dorries said ‘I am extremely disappointed in the IPC – this is the wrong decision and I call on them to urgently reconsider. They must join the rest of the world in condemning this barbaric invasion by banning Russian and Belarussian athletes from competing.
‘We will consider the full range of options in protest of this decision, in consultation with UK Sport and the British Paralympic Association. I will also be meeting with my international counterparts this week to discuss how we can respond collectively.’
The International Olympic Committee executive board issued a recommendation on Monday to international sports federations and event organisers to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, until further notice and ‘wherever possible’.
The statement from the IOC did recognise the difficulties facing the IPC, with the Games starting just over a week after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, aided and abetted by Belarus.
The IOC said on Monday that where a complete ban was not possible, athletes from those countries should compete as neutrals.
Governing bodies across the sporting world have been left with a decision to make after Vladimir Putin’s ordered invasion of Ukraine
The invasion of Ukraine has left governing bodies across the sporting world decisions to make over Russia and Belarus.
After immense pressure, FIFA and UEFA decided to suspend Russia from all competitions until further notice.
Russian and Belarusian athletes have been excluded from World Athletics Series events indefinitely too.
The International Tennis Federation has suspended those countries from membership and team competitions, but individual players are still competing on the men’s and women’s professional tours.
The same is the case in Formula One after the FIA allowed Russians to compete as neutrals, though Motorsport UK will not allow Haas driver Nikita Mazepin to race at the British Grand Prix this summer.
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