Russian flag cannot appear at the Olympics, according to Emmanuel Macron, the president of France

The Russian flag “cannot be at the Paris Olympic Games… at a time when Russia is committing war crimes,” French President Emmanuel Macron stressed on Wednesday.

When questioned about the potential for Russian athletes to compete in Paris as neutrals, Macron said, “I hope that this is a choice of conscience in the Olympic globe. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) must make decisions; the host state is not responsible for doing so.

I have complete faith in Thomas Bach, the IOC president, he continued to the sports publication L’Equipe.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, a number of sports have imposed penalties on athletes from Russia and Belarus.

The IOC has suggested letting athletes from Russia and Moscow ally Belarus to participate as individual neutrals in international events despite the continuing conflict.

Those who are permitted to reintegrate into international sport must meet specific requirements.

They consist of participating under a neutral flag and demonstrating that they haven’t actively participated in the Ukrainian conflict.

“Obviously, there cannot be the Russian flag at the Paris Games, I think there is consensus,” Macron said in his interview with L’Equipe.

“Russia as a nation has no place at a time when it has committed war crimes and deported children.”

The true decision that has to be made by the Olympic community is where to position these Russian athletes, some of whom have trained for years and may also be targets of this system.

Macron, though, questioned how to distinguish between Russian sportsmen who are complicit in the system and those who are its victims.

“This is the real question,” he said.

He insisted that the IOC must reach a fair and understandable judgment for Ukrainians.

This will be the balancing act that we must do.