IJF rejects participation of eight Russians in Qatar

Eight Russians have been denied participation at the upcoming World Judo Championships in Doha after the International Judo Federation (IJF) carried out background checks to ensure no support of the war in Ukraine, it has been announced.

The IJF has announced that eight members of the delegation looking to compete as individual neutral athletes at the event in the Qatari capital were rejected after "conducting thorough background investigations".

"Only athletes employed at the Federal Training Sport Center of the representative teams of Russia and athletes for whom no information was identified suggesting support for or views on the Russian invasion of Ukraine have been approved to compete at the World Judo Championships 2023 and in IJF competitions," a statement from the IJF read.

According to the IJF, the decision to reject the members was in accordance with the organisation's rules, policies and "commitment to fair play".

The IJF vowed to continue to monitor the situation and conduct further investigations in a bid to "ensure that all athletes are participating ethically and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the sport and the judo values".

A decision was made by the IJF Executive Committee on Saturday (April 29) to readmit judoka from Russia and Belarus as individual neutral athletes in time for the World Championships, scheduled to be held from May 7 to 14.

The IJF has revealed that its Executive Committee had received the list of proposed participants before commissioning "independent background checks" on the athletes and delegates to "ensure both their place of employment and any social media interactions regarding pro-war propaganda".