The Executive Committee of the International Judo Federation decided today, 21st September 2022, considering the current international circumstances and in order to ensure the protection of all athletes in the sport of judo, to not allow the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in international judo events until January 2023.
The war between Ukraine and Russia is causing complex concerns in the sports world. In judo, a team of top Russian athletes was allowed to compete in the IJF World Tour competitions under the IJF banner, as well as the World Championships in Tashkent in October. For example, a team of Russian athletes participated in the Grand Slam of Ulaanbaatar.
Ukraine boycotted the Grand Slam event in Ulaanbaatar over the presence of the Russians and had threatened to do the same for the World Championships.
Before then, Russian and Belarusian judoka had declined to participate as neutrals. The IJF is an outlier among Olympic International Federations in its stance.