IPC decision to bar Russians from 2022 Paralympics illegal, unfounded - RPC

MOSCOW. March 3 (Interfax) - The Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) reserves the right to appeal the decision made by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on non-admission of Russian athletes to the Beijing Paralympics in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and considers the decision unfounded, the RPC press service said.

"The Russian Paralympic Committee believes the decision of the International Paralympic Committee of March 3, 2022 is totally unfounded as it obviously contradicts one of the main principles of the Paralympic family, the apolitical nature of sport for people with disabilities," the report said.

"The RPC and the Russian Paralympians appear as the culprits of the current political conflicts in this decision. In the meantime, they not only have not done anything that can be interpreted in any way as participation in the current political aggravation, but on the contrary, have removed from the RPC administration persons who had any relation to political entities in full compliance with the decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)," it said.

"In this regard, the RPC finds the IPC decision to be illegal and reserves the right to defend the rights and interests of the Russian Paralympians in sports and other judicial bodies," the RPC said in its statement.

The IPC earlier decided not to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paralympics, but instead they were expected to compete in a neutral status and their results would not be included in the medal table.

On Thursday, the IPC changed its decision as some teams said they did not want to compete with Russians and Belarusians. It also said tensions were escalating in the Olympic villages and problems with ensuring the safety of the Paralympians were increasing.

The Winter Paralympics in Beijing start on March 4.