Published By: Sports Desk
Last Updated: March 22, 2024, 00:00 IST
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The International Olympic Committee believes its president Thomas Bach fell prey to a prank phone name amid rising tensions with Russia over restrictions on its athletes competing on the Paris Games.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland: The International Olympic Committee believes its president Thomas Bach fell prey to a prank phone name amid rising tensions with Russia over restrictions on its athletes competing on the Paris Games.
The IOC on Thursday detailed a name from individuals claiming to be from the African Union — an identical trick to at least one performed by Russian callers on Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in September.
In Meloni’s name, she acknowledged “fatigue” with the battle in Ukraine believing she was speaking with officers of the African Union.
The IOC mentioned it had calls with “a person pretending to be the chair of the African Union Commission” wanting to debate a press release on the politicization of sport.
The IOC and Bach have publicly criticized the Russian state together with over plans to arrange a world multi-sports activities occasion in September, weeks after the Paris Olympics shut.
Russian athletes who move vetting to compete in Paris additionally won’t participate within the opening ceremony parade of boats on the River Seine, the IOC determined this week.
“There appears to have been a new incident in the Russian disinformation and defamation campaign against the International Olympic Committee and its president,” the Olympic physique mentioned in a press release.
“Fake calls purporting to be from the African Union Commission appear to have been made by the very same group that has already attacked a number of global political leaders and other high-ranking personalities in the same way,” the IOC mentioned.
Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, often called Vovan and Lexus, additionally tricked the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, in November 2022.
Duda believed he was speaking to France’s President Emmanuel Macron.
Russia is on observe to have about 35 athletes qualify for the Paris Olympics — about 10% of its common group for a Summer Games.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
