Paralympic sanction for Belarussian who waved Russian flag

RIO DE JANEIRO: The International Paralympic Committee said Thursday it has stripped the accreditation of a Belarussian who waved a Russian flag at the opening ceremony, calling it a "political statement" after Russia's doping ban.
The IPC said it would also speak to the Belarussian Paralympic Committee to remind it that political displays are not allowed at the Olympic or Paralympic Games.
The man in question was not an athlete but a friend of the Belarussian committee president who had been accredited to take part in the ceremony, said the IPC.
IPC spokesman Craig Spence said the Belarussian committee's president has been vocally critical of the decision to bar all Russian athletes from the Paralympics over evidence of a state-run doping program.
The unidentified Belarussian man marched into Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium at the back of the Belarus delegation during Wednesday night's opening ceremony, brandishing Russia's white, blue and red flag.
Russia, Belarus's neighbour and most important political and trade partner, is traditionally a Paralympic heavyweight. It finished second in the medal table at the 2012 Paralympics in London, behind China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the ban as "outside the law, morality, humanity."
In response, Russia has organized its own games for its disabled athletes, complete with a glitzy opening ceremony Wednesday where Russian pop stars performed. — AFP