{"id":12820,"date":"2026-02-19T21:47:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12820"},"modified":"2026-02-19T21:47:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:47:57","slug":"italy-opposes-paralympics-allowing-russia-and-belarus-to-use-flags-anthems-olympics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12820","title":{"rendered":"Italy opposes Paralympics allowing Russia and Belarus to use flags, anthems | Olympics News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The two countries had been banned following the invasion of Ukraine, but had their rights restored last year.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">2 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 19 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">19 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Olympic hosts Italy called for a reversal of the decision to let 10 \u2060Russian and Belarusian athletes compete with national flags and anthems at next month\u2019s Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n<p>Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi urged the International Paralympic Committee to reconsider its \u2060stance due to Russia\u2019s four-year-old invasion of Ukraine, saying on Thursday it contradicted the Olympic spirit.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The Italian government expressed its \u201cabsolute opposition\u201d to the IPC\u2019s ruling in September, they said in a statement late on Wednesday, adding that Rome\u2019s stance echoed that of 33 other countries and the European Commission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRussia\u2019s \u200ccontinued violation of the truce and Olympic and Paralympic ideals, supported by Belarus, is incompatible with the participation of their athletes in the Games, except as neutral individual athletes,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<p>Russia\u2019s embassy in Italy said it was unacceptable to target athletes with disabilities. \u201cThe harsh and undiplomatic stance taken by the two Italian politicians, backed by the authority of the government they represent, is offensive and deserves widespread condemnation,\u201d it \u2060said on Telegram.<\/p>\n<p>Russia and its \u2060ally Belarus, which was used as a staging area for attacking Ukraine, were banned from Paralympics competitions after the 2022 invasion but regained full rights in the IPC in a vote by members last year.<\/p>\n<p>International federations \u2060for each sport on the Paralympic Games programme had said they would maintain bans on athletes from those countries, but Russia and \u2060Belarus won an appeal with the Court of Arbitration \u2060for Sport back in December against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.<\/p>\n<p>A limited number of Russian and Belarusian athletes are competing as neutral independents without flags or anthems at the ongoing Winter Games, with Olympic Committees of \u200cboth nations still sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee.<\/p>\n<p>An Italian ministerial source denied a report in the newspaper La Repubblica suggesting that Tajani might move to block visas for Russians. \u201cThe \u200cItalian \u200cauthorities would not take any action to block visas for athletes or their entourage if their participation was confirmed,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n<p>The Winter Paralympics run from March\u202f6-\u202f15.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The two countries had been banned following the invasion of Ukraine, but had their rights restored last year. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a02 mins info Published On 19 Feb 202619 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Olympic hosts Italy called for a reversal of the decision to let 10 \u2060Russian and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}