Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has threatened to block Russian athletes from entering her country if they are permitted to compete internationally.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), led by German official Thomas Bach, has recommended that athletes from Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to return to the global sporting stage provided they do not support the invasion of Ukraine and are not affiliated to the military.
However, Faeser is opposed to the move and insisted that the country’s authorities have the power to ensure Russian athletes do not compete on German soil.
“Countries that host major sports events are not powerless,” said Faeser in an interview with German newspaper publisher Funke Media Group.
“They can control whether Russians can participate in them by issuing visas.
“If we organise international competitions in Germany, we can act accordingly.
“Here we will always act with a clear position.”
Germany has already cancelled one major event in response to Russian and Belarusian athletes being permitted to return to international action.
The German Fencing Federation recently pulled the plug on the women’s foil International Fencing Federation World Cup in Tauberbischofsheim after the worldwide governing body for the sport approved the return of fencers from Russia and Belarus.
Table tennis, taekwondo and wrestling are among sports which have indicated that they will also adhere with the IOC’s recommendations.
However, others including athletics, equestrians and sports climbing have said that their bans will remain in place.
Germany is set to stage several big international events this year, including the World Archery Championships and the Canoe Sprint World Championships.
Faeser stressed that allowing competitors from Russia to compete would be a “slap in the face to Ukrainian athletes”.
“Offering the warmonger [Russian President Vladimir] Putin a propaganda stage would mean betraying all the values of sport,” added Faeser.
Bach has slammed European Governments which have criticised the IOC’s stance on Russia and Belarus, describing their position as “deplorable”.
The German Olympic Sports Federation, which has previously been led by Bach, last month expressed its continued support for a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes from international sport.
But the organisation rejected calls for a boycott of next year’s Olympics in Paris should athletes from the two nations be present.
