CORRECTS - Russian appeal against Olympic suspension dismissed by Court of Arbitration for Sport

CORRECTS HEADLINE, REVISES DECK FOR CLARITY

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday dismissed Russia's appeal against its suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"The CAS Panel in charge of this matter dismissed the appeal and confirmed the Challenged Decision, finding that the IOC EB did not breach the principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality, the court said in a statement.

"The CAS Panel’s decision is final and binding except for the parties’ right to file an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days on limited grounds," it added.

The sport's highest court suspended the Russian Olympic Committee until further notice last Oct. 12, 2023, following the addition of the Olympic Councils of the so-called Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Kherson and Zaporozhye regions into the organization – areas belonging to Ukraine that were illegally annexed by Russia in September 2022, amid Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine.

In December, the IOC announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes who earned a quota place for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris would be allowed to participate as neutrals.

Belarus has been a large supporter of Russia’s war on Ukraine, which tomorrow is set to enter its third year.