Sport as a Digital Battlefield

Data, Diplomacy, and Failed Neutrality in the Russian–Ukrainian War

Research on Neutrality Status Implementation in Sport

  • Why was this study necessary?
    Because no one — including the International Olympic Committee, which proposed granting Russian and Belarusian athletes neutral status — conducted a fundamental research on the consequences of this decision. Therefore, no one knows the actualquality of the neutrality checks carried out by international federations.

  • Why is this study objective?
    The author did not assess whether Russian and Belarusian athletes met the neutrality requirements. Instead, the author relied exclusively on the decisions of International Sports Federations and the International Olympic Committee. Accordingly, strict standards of impartiality were maintained.

  • How was the study conducted?
    The author compared:

    • the neutral statuses issued by International Sports Federations to Russian and Belarusian athletes;

    • the neutral statuses and invitations issued by the IOC to these athletes for participation in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

    If an athlete earned an Olympic qualification as a result of being admitted by an International Sports Federation but did not receive an invitation from the IOC following its own commission’s neutrality review, this indicated that the federation’s review had been of poor quality.

Research results presented at the International scientific conference: Ukraine’s Digital Diplomacy: Strategic Communications, Data Analysis, Crisis Management. Proceedings of the international scientific conference. (Lviv, November 14, 2025). – Lviv: Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. – 2025. – P. 113 – 116. Download PDF
Sport Diplomacy Illustration

The Role of Sport in Modern Diplomacy

In the modern world, international elite sport has become an integral and strategically important element of a state’s soft power — a sphere where public attention, global media coverage, and the actions of well-known athletes can have immediate diplomatic and informational effects. The international sports arena, because of its visibility and emotional engagement, possesses enormous viral potential, making it a powerful tool for shaping global narratives and public opinion. In the context of the Russian–Ukrainian war, the struggle to maintain the isolation of Russian sport has become a vital front of modern diplomacy.

“Efforts to document and expose violations of neutrality by Russian and Belarusian athletes have served as a crucial instrument in countering propaganda and amplifying Ukraine’s voice internationally.”

Research Aim

This research is based on systematic collection and analysis of data from a wide range of digital sources, open media, and public databases, conducted jointly by civil society, journalists, and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. Despite the evident importance of this issue, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provided no official follow-up or statistical reporting regarding failed neutrality verifications. Therefore, the author conducted independent research to identify and quantify the scale of non-compliance by the international sport federations . These findings aim to assist Ukrainian sports institutions and diplomatic missions in strengthening their positions in the global effort to sustain the isolation of Russian sport.

Key Findings

Scope of Study

The research examined the granting of neutral status to Russian and Belarusian athletes in 11 Olympic sports, including wrestling, judo, tennis, canoeing / kayaking, taekwondo, road cycling, swimming, shooting, trampoline, rowing, and modern pentathlon. More than 100 cases were examined

Key Statistics

Over 43% of neutral statuses issued by international sport federations
were not confirmed by the IOC during the final invitation process for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

Not Confirmed Neutrality Statuses by Sport

Modern Pentathlon (100%), Taekwondo (80%), Judo (76%), Wrestling (56%), Overall (43%)

Important remarks:

  • in cases where a Federation conducts a large number of checks, the number of "fails" is quite significant. Examples include the wrestling and judo, where a double-digit number of athletes were reviewed.
  • even a small number of checks does not guarantee their quality. An example is the International Modern Pentathlon Federation, which carried out a review involving a number of athletes that can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Global Impact and Ethical Concerns

Only at 4 olympic qualifying tournaments in wrestling and taekwondo improperly granted neutral statuses affected over 60 athletes from 30 countries, undermining fairness in Olympic qualifications. These included Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Estonia, India, Iran, Spain, Italy, Kazakhstan, China, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Mongolia, Germany, Norway, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Serbia, the United States, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, France, Switzerland, and Sweden. The analysis revealed that many international federations ignored Ukrainian evidence of violations, demonstrating not institutional weakness but a lack of political will to uphold neutrality standards.

Lack of Institutional Capacity and Political Will

The study further argues that many international federations systematically ignore evidence provided by the NOC of Ukraine and Ukrainian sports organizations regarding violations of neutrality, such as public support for the war, affiliation with military or security structures, or participation in propaganda events.

The reluctance to respond to such information reflects not merely institutional weakness but a broader lack of political will to ensure adherence to ethical and legal principles. Particularly notable in this respect are the United World Wrestling and the International Judo Federation, which have repeatedly disregarded documented cases of non-neutral behavior by Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Limitations of the IOC’s Neutrality Criteria

Another significant finding concerns the limitations of the IOC’s neutrality criteria themselves. These criteria do not take into account the illegal visits of Russian and Belarusian athletes to occupied Ukrainian territories, training camps and recreational events there, or participation in competitions held in these areas — all of which constitute violations of international law. Such omissions allow athletes directly involved in or supportive of the occupation to maintain eligibility under the guise of neutrality.

Sport Diplomacy Illustration

Conclusions

The concept of neutral status for Russian and Belarusian athletes has been fundamentally compromised. International federations lack capacity or will for effective checks, while the IOC has no mechanisms to control compliance. Many athletes with military, security, or propaganda ties still compete internationally under neutrality.

The problem now extends beyond sport — touching sovereignty, international law, and national security. The study calls for intergovernmental cooperation and diplomatic actions to restore fairness, accountability, and justice in global sport.