«Athletes cannot be held accountable for the actions of their governments,» the organization said.
The International Olympic Committee has promised to take action in case of discrimination against athletes by officials or their colleagues on the background of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This was stated to the agency DPA representative of the organization.
According to the representative, "athletes can not be held responsible for the actions of their governments." If discrimination is found, the committee will work with the relevant national Olympic committee and the International Federation to take swift action.
He noted that the IOC already has a practice of making such decisions. Thus, during the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Algerian judoka Fethi Nourin refused to hold a duel with an Israeli. After that he was suspended from competition by the International Judo Federation for ten years for violating the Olympic Charter.