Secretary of State for Sport Nadine Dorries said she was “extremely disappointed” by the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) decision to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Paralympic Games starting Friday.

The UK was the first major country to react to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) decision on Wednesday afternoon, via Secretary of State for Sport Nadine Dorries.

The latter believes that “it is a bad decision that the IPC should urgently reconsider. They should join the rest of the world in condemning this barbaric invasion by banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing (in the Paralympics)”. “.

Britain may challenge the decision

Doris and the Brits do not intend to stop there: “We are looking at a full range of options for opposing this decision in consultation with UK Sport (the government agency responsible for sport in the United Kingdom) and the British Paralympic Association.” The foreign minister plans to meet with his international counterparts in the coming days “to discuss how we can collectively respond”.

The IPC on Wednesday afternoon decided to authorize Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Beijing Paralympic Games (March 4-20, 2022) “as neutral nations. They will compete under the Paralympic flag and will not participate in the draw.” Medal”.

The Paralympic body’s decision on Monday afternoon “after urging international sports federations and organizers of sporting events not to invite or allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and official representatives to participate, came as a surprise to international competitions”.

The French Paralympic and Sports Committee on Wednesday announced “its full support (to the IPC) if the latter decides to exclude Russian and Belarusian delegations”, ahead of the officialization of Russian participation.