Olympics-IOC and Games cannot be referees in political disputes - Bach

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee IOC speaks to the Ruhr Political Festival on "Olympics in the field of tension between sports and politics" while Ukrainian refugees protested against Bach and any participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games outside the Philharmonic Music Hall in Essen, Germany, March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch

ESSEN, Germany (Reuters) -The Olympic Games and its ruling body, the International Olympic Committee, cannot be referees in global political disputes, its president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday, defending the IOC's plans to includes Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris 2024 Games.

Speaking at a political forum, Bach said the Games should stay away from politics otherwise they would lose their uniting powers, citing examples of past boycotts in the 1970s and 1980s.