The International Olympic Committee’s executive board has recommended sports federations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in events following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The IOC said the executive board made the decision “in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants” and that the body was acting with a “heavy heart.” The Russian Olympic Committee categorically disagreed with the IOC, saying the decision “contradicts both the regulatory documents of the IOC and the (Olympic) Charter”. “As a first step, we consider it necessary to send requests to international federations for an official response on the status of Russian athletes and their rights to participate in international competitions due to the fact that it is the …  federations that have the authority to admit athletes to international competitions in the respective sport,” the ROC said in a statement. …