Italy risks being excluded from the Olympics for Tokyo

Like the French news agency AFP reported was in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera A letter from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been published warning of government influence on the CONI.

The IOC expressed “serious concerns” and recalled that membership in the Olympic Movement requires “conformity with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC”. According to the IOC, the planned law, which is intended to give the government the opportunity to influence the national Olympic organization, risks the independence of the Olympic movement in Italy.

Italy's Sports Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti. © AFP / TIZIANA FABI

“The CONI should be an autonomous and legally independent organization governed by the Olympic Charter and its own statutes,” said James Macleod, author of the letter and responsible for the NOCs (National Olympic Committees) at the IOC. After the letter was published, reassuring tones were heard from the Italian government. Sports Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said he wanted to continue working on the new regulation. Italy wants to clear up all misunderstandings “In the process we will clear up any misunderstandings that the IOC official’s letter addresses,” Giorgetti said. The IOC proposed a meeting this week in Lausanne to “clarify the matter.” However, a year before the Tokyo Olympics, the Order of the Rings also made it clear in its letter that it had the power to suspend an NOC “if the constitution, laws or other regulations in the country in question hinder the NOC in its activities or the exercise of its will.”

This had already happened. The IOC suspended Kuwait in October 2015 because of government political influence on sporting institutions. The exclusion was temporarily lifted in August 2018 and then finally lifted in July 2019.

In 2026, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo (and Antholz as a biathlon competition venue) will host the Winter Games; the Italian bid won against Stockholm in June.

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Italy risks being excluded from the Olympics for Tokyo

Because of a reform plan by the national government, Italy's Olympic Committee CONI is threatened with exclusion from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

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