Poland: The Polish Sports and Tourism Minister Mr. Kamil Bortniczuk has stated that “up to 40 countries could boycott the next Olympic Games, making the whole event pointless.”

Mr. Bortniczuk’s comments came after Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia jointly rejected an International Olympic Committee (IOC) plan to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete in 2024. Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Olympics if that occurs.

However, the IOC remarked that any boycott would only “punish athletes.”

Mr. Bortniczuk remarked that he believed it would be possible to build a coalition of 40 countries, including Great Britain, the United States, and Canada, to support a block on the IOC’s plans before a meeting on February 10.

The Sports Minister further added that “considering this, I don’t think we will face tough decisions before the Olympics and, if we were to boycott the Games, the coalition we will be a part of will be broad enough to make holding the Games pointless.”

Earlier, the IOC announced that it would “explore a pathway” to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris under a neutral flag, adding that “no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport.”

The IOC decision prompted condemnation, with the UK Government claiming that the plan was “a world away from the reality of war.”

Ukraine Sports Minister Vadym Guttsait commented that the country’s sporting bodies needed to “strengthen communication” with international federations to keep a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in place, which was imposed by the IOC’s executive committee immediately after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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