Athletes from Russia and Belarus can continue to compete with approved neutral status this season but no symbols of national identity. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced this decision on Wednesday. According to the governing body, athletes, coaches and officials from these countries "may be granted access to FIS competitions provided that they sign a declaration of neutrality based on a set of principles established by FIS," with a warning of sanctions that can be imposed.
This decision comes after Russian skiers won a ruling in December at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that ended a near four-year ban from international events during the war in Ukraine. It allowed them to return to World Cup events in Alpine, cross-country and freestyle skiing, and snowboarding, trying to qualify for the Milan Cortina Olympics held in February.
The FIS ruling council renewed its neutral athlete policy for the winter season that starts next month. FIS stated: "The participation of athletes is restricted to individual events and is conditioned to the fact that no country symbols — such as flags, anthems, or uniforms — should be displayed."
However, Russian athletes and team officials are still likely to face challenges getting visas to enter some European countries that host World Cup races.