The International Olympic Committee has punished Russia’s Winter Olympic team by banning them from the 2018 Winter Olympic games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, following a vote on Tuesday, according to a release.
Because of the ban, no Russian officials will be allowed to attend the games, its flag will not be displayed and the country’s anthem will not be played.
Any athletes from Russia competing in the upcoming Olympic games will be wearing a neutral uniform bearing the name “Olympic Athlete from Russia,” and any time an athlete from Russia wins a medal, the Olympic anthem will be played.
IOC Media (Twitter)
Russia was also ordered to pay $15 million in costs for its involvement in the country’s state-sponsored doping program at the Winter Games in 2014.
A 14-person International Olympic Committee panel announced the ban Tuesday.
At the 2014 Sochi Games, more than 100 urine samples from Russian athletes were tampered with to cover up drug-tainted samples.
The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said there will be a special ceremony to reassign medals to retroactive winners from the 2014 Olympic games.
In 2016, Canadian law professor Richard McLaren confirmed that more than 1,000 Russian athletes were involved in state-sponsored doping.
