IOC Clears Russia For Paris Olympics, Continues To Challenge FIFA For Most Corrupt Organization

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FIFA took center stage in the global sports world with the World Cup at the end of 2022. And now its corrupt brethren, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is doing its part in re-claiming the throne for the most corrupt organization in sports ahead of the 2024 Games in Paris.

While the vast majority of sports fans and fellow Olympic athletes seem to want Russian athletes banned from competing in Paris amid the country's invasion of Ukraine, the IOC ignored that noise and has announced that Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in the Games.

Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete in the upcoming Olympics under the Council of Asia under what the IOC calls "neutral athletes."

Athletes who are "actively supporting the war in Ukraine" face being excluded from the Paris Olympics, however.

Woke Australian Open Fans Furious About Russian, Belarusian Flags

A tennis fan holds up a Russia flag at the 2023 Australian Open. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian Athletes Allowed, Just Not The Country's Flag

The IOC is implementing the same strategy we've seen in the past where the Russian and Belarusian flags will be banned and athletes from both countries will compete under a generic, white, Olympic-themed flag.

Tennis has adopted a similar strategy. Russians and Belarusians competing in this month's Australian Open, for example, do not have their country's flag next to their name during television broadcasts.

READ: WOKE TENNIS FANS FURIOUS THAT RUSSIAN FLAGS WERE SPOTTED AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN; TOURNAMENT BOWS TO THE MOB

Russia has not competed under their country's name since the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

Deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Oleksii Dniprov does not agree with the IOC's decision.

"Neutrality no longer exists, it was destroyed by Russian barbarians on February 24, 2022," Dniprov stated.

"The white flag under which these athletes plan to march is stained with the blood of Ukrainian children, who are killed every day by the aggressor and those who support him," he added.  

The 2024 Olympics will begin in Paris on July 26 and conclude on Aug. 11.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.