The IOC president, accused of "conspiracy"

The great Olympic family is facing a wave of scandals related to the presence/absence of athletes from Russia and Belarus at the Paris Olympics.

Russia has accused the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, of participating in a "conspiracy" with Ukraine to exclude its most valuable athletes from this year's Games in Paris. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the allegation after two Russian comedians known as Vovan and Lexus released a recording of a conversation with Bach in which the IOC president was made to believe he was talking to an African sports official. Bach said in the conversation that the IOC has set up a special group to monitor the media and the Internet and to ensure that Russian athletes who have made political statements in support of their government cannot take part in the Olympics. "We have also proposed to the Ukrainian side - not only proposed, but asked - to provide us with their knowledge of the behavior of such Russian athletes or officials," Bach could be heard saying in English on the recording . Zakharova posted on Telegram that Bach "entered into a political-administrative and, apparently, criminal conspiracy with a certain party", i.e. Ukraine, "to exclude strong sports competitors from international competitions". "IOC President Bach's relationship with the Ukrainian Olympic Committee and its officials and the recognition of a "request to monitor Russian athletes' should be the subject of a thorough investigation," she added. Relations between Russia and the IOC have deteriorated significantly in the run-up to the Olympics, where Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete as neutrals, without flags and anthems, because of the war in Ukraine. These athletes were also banned from participating in the opening ceremony. On March 21, the IOC flagged a new incident in Russia's disinformation campaign launched against it. "The fake calls claiming to be from the African Union Commission appear to have been made by the same group that has already attacked several world political leaders and other high-ranking figures in a similar manner," the IOC said in a short statement at the time. The IOC has announced the establishment of a commission to assess the eligibility of every Russian or Belarusian athlete who qualifies for the Paris Olympics.