Athletes banned from int'l competitions illegally - Belarusian Olympic Committee

MINSK. March 1 (Interfax) - Belarus' National Olympic Committee (NOC) and sports community have expressed their disagreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision of February 25 and 28 to ban the country's athletes from competitions.

"The NOC Belarus considers illegitimate and contrary to international law the calls of the IOC Executive Board not to allow the Belarusian athletes to take part in the international competitions, not to display the national flag and national anthem of the Republic of Belarus. This decision has no explanation and is based on unverified information," the NOC website stated.

The IOC has applied the principle of "politics out of sports" selectively to support political decisions of certain states, thus depriving many athletes of the once in a lifetime opportunity to prove themselves, the NOC said.

Belarusian athletes who compete internationally are threatened and discriminated against, not least at the IOC's instigation, the NOC said. "The IOC does not consider the fact that Belarus has not violated the Olympic truce and Belarusian troops are not taking part in the conflict on the territory of Ukraine," the statement said.

Earlier, the IOC recommended that international federations move sporting venues from Russia and Belarus and exclude these countries' teams from competitions. The IOC sanctions were imposed over the situation in Ukraine.