The IOC says it was the target of Russian prank calls

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach was the victim of prank calls from Russia, the organization said on Thursday, amid tensions in relations between the organization and Russians after the country’s athletes were banned to march at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, due to the war in Ukraine. The IOC said false calls were made to the body and its president, as the callers claimed to be representatives of the African Union Commission, who wanted to discuss the situation in Russia.

“It appears that there has been a new incident in Russia’s disinformation and defamation campaign against the International Olympic Committee and its president,” the IOC said in a statement. In September, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke of international fatigue over the conflict with Ukraine during a prank call with the Russians, who also fooled other Western politicians and celebrities, hoping to elicit compromising comments. “During the phone calls, a person posing as the chairperson of the African Union Commission wanted to listen to the IOC’s arguments on the politicization of sport by the Russian government, with the aim of preparing a statement on such politicization,” he said. The IOC on Tuesday announced a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes from marching at the opening ceremony of the Paris Games. Moscow responded harshly, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that the committee’s decision was “the destruction of the idea of ​​Olympism” and undermined the interests of athletes. Russians and Belarusians will compete as neutral athletes in Paris, without flags and anthems.

Source: Terra

Rose

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