Though the avowed mandate of the Olympics is to bring the entire world under one roof, political competition refuses to leave the Games alone. History is full of instances when politics intruded, disrupted, and even stunted the mega sporting event held every two years, taking turns with Winter and Summer editions.
Of late, politics have become so obvious that they have started impacting the normal life of a common man. The world order is changing. Conflicts, especially the armed ones, have become the order of the day. Intriguingly, one country that shares the blame most for the boycott of the Games is the erstwhile Soviet Union, presently Russia.
Boycotting, complete or partial, of the games has become an integral part of these mega sporting events.
If the 1972 Munich Olympics games were greatly impacted by the Palestinian intruders who captured and killed several Israeli athletes, the 1976 games in Montreal saw last-minute withdrawals by several countries in protest against permitting a squad from apartheid South Africa.
1980 was the worst year when the US led a major boycott by the Western world in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviets retaliated in 1984 and led their allies in refusing to participate in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Four years later, the two Koreans were virtually at war.
And when the Games returned to the Asian continent for the 2020 Olympics, Russia and Belarus were banned on various charges, including doping at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014.
Subsequently, the Russian military attack on Ukraine led to another uproar in the sporting world, keeping it divided.
The echo of the same roar is being heard now as the International Paralympic Committee, an organization that runs parallel to the International Olympic Committee (IPC), has readmitted both Russia and Belarus to participate in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games under the flag and banner. Many nations, including Ukraine, Latvia, and even the hosts, Italy, have not taken well to the decision of the IPC.
Another boycott threat may impact the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games, due to start on March 6. As Latvia became the latest European nation to join the institutional protest of the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons said that the assembly’s decision to allow Russia and Belarus to compete can’t be reversed.
The IPC reaffirmed its position amid mounting political and sporting pressure surrounding the presence of athletes from both International Olympic Committee-banned countries at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.
During a press conference in Milan, Parsons underlined that the General Assembly decision allowing their participation under the national flag and anthem is final and cannot be altered by the Governing Board or by himself, marking a key institutional moment in an increasingly tense climate.
“This decision cannot be overturned by the board or by myself,” he stated, stressing the democratic nature of the process that led to the readmission, as he had already indicated in a one-on-one interview with Inside The Games in November, when he noted that he respects majority decisions and that his institutional duty is to apply them, regardless of personal agreement.
The resolution includes a total of 10 places across men and women, six for Russia and four for Belarus, allocated in para alpine skiing, para cross-country skiing, and para snowboarding, triggering immediate international reaction amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In parallel, the IPC president sought to contain the political escalation by reiterating the movement’s core message, “We have a message to give that is one of inclusion and diversity,” while encouraging Ukrainian athletes to attend the opening ceremony on 6 March in Verona, adding that their decision would be respected.
Parsons also acknowledged concern over the risk of politicization. “What I’m afraid of is that sometimes these situations can be politicized,” he warned, in a climate marked by growing political reactions and institutional boycotts surrounding the ceremony.
The impact is already visible. Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since the latter’s invasion in 2022, confirmed it will institutionally boycott the Opening Ceremony, a stance joined by the Czech Paralympic Committee and authorities in several European countries.
In recent hours, Latvia expanded that line by announcing it will not participate ‘in any format,’ neither in person nor audiovisually, and requested that its flag not be used during the ceremony, in a decision of strong symbolic weight. “Neither our organization nor our athletes accept the decision to allow participation under national symbols,” said Latvian Paralympic Committee President Daiga Dadzite, stressing that no representative of its delegation will take part in the ceremony.
The controversy has also reached the host nation. The Italian government expressed disagreement with the readmission under flag and anthem and called for a review while maintaining dialogue with the IPC to reduce institutional impact and ensure suitable conditions for athletes. In that context, Sports Minister Andrea Abodi reiterated the Government’s opposition to national symbols, We would like Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, but in a neutral capacity, respecting the rule of non-compromise with war”.
From Moscow, meanwhile, officials insisted that mixing politics and sport is wrong and that targeting athletes with disabilities is unacceptable, while the Russian Embassy in Italy described the Italian authorities’ stance as ‘offensive.’
With only days remaining before the Games, scheduled from 6 to 15 March, a deep conflict between those defending sporting autonomy and those viewing the geopolitical context appears to have become a sore point for the organizing committee. In that scenario, athletes, detached from the political decisions surrounding them, end up carrying tensions born outside sport into competition, at a particularly sensitive moment marking four years since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Beyond the limited number of places, the debate has taken on considerable symbolic weight and projects a Milano Cortina scenario in which competition will coexist with tensions extending beyond sport, testing the delicate balance between principles, politics, and sport.
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