No political protest or gestures at Tokyo Olympics: IOA to athletes

January 11, 2020

• The head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach insisted on Friday that protests should be kept out of this year’s Tokyo Games, saying that the Olympics should “unite” the world.
• In a meeting of the IOC in Lausanne, Bach stressed the “importance” of a series of recently-adopted directives designed to clarify what is banned and the sanctions for those not respecting the ban, established under Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter.
• Athletes, coaches, trainers and officials are banned from political protests on the field of play, the Olympic Village, during the opening and closing ceremonies and on the medal podium.
• Anyone who does not respect these rules will face sanctions from the IOC, their country’s governing body for sport and their national Olympic committee.

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