Olympic sponsors urged to back continued ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes

PRESSURE: The UK Government has urged Olympic sponsors to put pressure on the IOC over plans to potentially allow Russian athletes to compete as neutrals in Paris. Pic: Adam Davy/PA

Olympic sponsors have been urged by the British Government to support a continued ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes for next year’s Games in Paris.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has written to the UK chief executives of the International Olympic Committee’s 13 worldwide partners, who include Coca-Cola, Intel, Samsung and Visa, to put pressure on the IOC to set out the detail around the ‘pathway’ it is considering which would allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutrals.