Olympics-IOC calls on British government to respect 'autonomy of sport'

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Paris candidacy for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is seen at the entrance of the Le Bourget exhibition center in Le Bourget, near Paris, May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

(Reuters) - Olympic chiefs have urged the British government to respect the "autonomy of sport" after an attempt to lobby sponsors against a proposed pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate at next year's Paris Games.

Britain's Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer last week wrote a letter to 13 of the biggest Olympic sponsors, urging them to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to abandon its proposal.