The Russian Olympic Committee has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee’s executive board, but no decision has yet been taken on whether individual athletes from the country will be allowed to compete at next summer’s Games in Paris.

The IOC said in a statement that the ROC’s suspension related to its unilateral decision on October 5 to include as members regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee.

These regional organisations are within territories annexed by the Russian military amid its invasion of Ukraine.

The IOC added: ‘The IOC reserves the right to decide about the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at the appropriate time.’

On March 28, the IOC set out recommendations which international sports federations could apply to enable Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in their events under strict neutrality conditions.

In March rival countries and protest groups called on Russia to be excluded entirely amid attempts by athletes to compete neutrally

The IOC said it reserves the right to decide about the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport 

These conditions included limiting it to individual athletes rather than teams of athletes, a ban on any athlete or support personnel who had expressed support for the invasion. 

It also applied to those who were contracted to their country’s military or security forces.

IOC president Thomas Bach said at the time the recommendations were issued that the organisation wanted to make an ‘informed decision’ over whether athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports should be able to compete in Paris.

‘We are not kicking (the can) down the road, and we are not waiting,’ he added.