World Taekwondo have announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to return to competition as neutrals despite the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Taekwondo's governing body convened after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that athletes from Russia and Belarus should be allowed to compete as neutrals, provided they do not openly support the invasion or are affiliated with the military.
"The Council reaffirmed its calls for peace and its solidarity with the Olympic community in Ukraine," World Taekwondo said in a statement.
"World Taekwondo will continue to support Ukrainian athletes in ensuring they can participate in taekwondo events.
"Following deliberation, the Council decided to allow the participation of individual neutral athletes and support personnel with Russian and Belarusian passport holders at the World Taekwondo-promoted Championships, starting from the Baku 2023 World Taekwondo Championships at the end of May.
"A decision on the participation of individual neutral athletes and support personnel with Russian and Belarusian passports in other events not promoted by World Taekwondo will be made after the Baku 2023 World Taekwondo Championships."
The IOC's new recommendations do not yet apply to the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it appears Russian and Belarusian athletes will be given the green light to compete after president Thomas Bach claimed excluding them "would be the end of world sport as we know it today."
"It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport," he said.
"It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards. We have not seen a single comment on their attitude on the participation of athletes from countries of the other 70 wars and armed conflict around the world."
