Concerning the information, provided by the media, that the IOC has banned Russian fans from waving the national tricolor in the stands during the Olympic games in Pyeongchang deem it necessary to report the following.
The clause prohibiting the audience to wave flags of a “non-participating country” are forbidden from the stands at the Olympic venues were made in the rulebook for the fans by the organising Committee in Pyeongchang at the stage of preparation of regulations of organizing and conducting Games.
This clause specifies a potential limitation for the representatives of the countries or entities not recognized by the international community and not members of the international Olympic movement.
The ban has nothing to do with the decisions that were taken in December last year, the IOC Executive Board on the participation of Russian sportsmen in the Olympic games in 2018.
Rules of conduct are universal and common to all of the fans who attend the Games. No additional restrictions for fans from Russia.
However, given the fact that our team will perform at the Olympics under the designation ‘Olympic athletes from Russia’, at the last meeting with the IOC delegation the working group of the ROC appealed to the IOC for official confirmation on the matter, the answer is expected before the end of the week.
