Nine EU countries call for funding cuts to IOC and other sports bodies over Russia policy

Nine European Union member states have asked the bloc to reduce funding for sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee, over decisions that allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition. According to Estonia’s culture ministry, the request was sent to EU Commissioner Glenn Micallef and also names World Aquatics and the International Fencing Federation. The countries behind the proposal are Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden. The move follows the IOC executive board’s recent decision to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and end a vetting program for Russian athletes seeking neutral status ahead of qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The nine countries said the policy ignores the situation facing Ukrainian athletes, who they said are not competing under the same conditions. The EU has not said how it will respond.