Olympic leaders have urged the British government to respect the “autonomy of sport” after London’s attempt to pressure sponsors against a proposed formula for participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Games in Paris.

UK Culture Secretary Lucy Fraser wrote last week to 13 of the biggest sponsors of the Olympic Games, urging them to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to back out of their offer.

“It is not up to governments to decide which athletes can compete in which international competitions. This will be the end of world sport as we know it today,” the IOC said on Monday.

“We hope that the British Government will respect the autonomy of sport… Sports authorities should be solely responsible for deciding which athletes can compete in international competition based solely on their sporting merit.

“Accordingly, Olympic sponsors are not involved in this decision-making process.”

The IOC imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus after last year’s invasion of Ukraine, but doesn’t want to completely ban its athletes from the Olympics, fearing a return to a Cold War boycott.

In January, they paved the way for athletes from Russia and allied Belarus to win Olympic slots in the Asian qualifiers and compete as neutrals in Paris.

Neutral athletes are not considered representatives of their nations, and their success is not accompanied by waving flags or playing national anthems.

Last month, the British government issued a joint statement with 34 other countries, echoing its call for the IOC to completely ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from its games.

Source: Reuters.