Russia launched a furious tirade at the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday, arguing the IOC’s restrictions on Russian athletes and its criticism of the Moscow-organised Friendship Games amounted to “neo-Nazism”.
The IOC on Tuesday barred Russian athletes from taking part in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 26 and criticised the Kremlin for planning to hold its own “Friendship Games” to rival those held in the French capital.
“These decisions demonstrate how far the IOC has moved away from its stated principles and slipped into racism and neo-Nazism,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing.
