The Italian flag may be banned from the Tokyo Olympics. Why?

In August 2019, the Italian Congress passed a draft to amend the sports law, which attracted the attention of the International Olympic Committee due to suspected political interference in sports. The draft authorizes the Italian government to organize Olympic sports events, including the allocation and expenditure of funds, etc., which violates the International Olympic Committee's principle that the government shall not interfere with sports. The IOC expressed great concern about this matter and personally sent a letter to Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) President Marago, pointing out that the bill "clearly interferes with CONI's autonomy" and that the actions of the IOC member associations must be in line with the Olympic Games Charter and recognized by the IOC, the Italian Olympic Committee should be an autonomous and legally independent organization. Therefore, the International Olympic Committee decided that if the dispute over the Italian government's intervention in the Italian National Olympic Committee is not resolved before Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee will ban the flying of the Italian flag and the playing of the Italian national anthem at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Italian government established an organization called the "Ministry of Sports and Health" in 2019 to manage matters related to sports activities. In 2020, the organization obtained the right to dispose of funds of 280 million euros. However, before the establishment of this body, the Italian Olympic Committee was responsible for relevant sports activities and had the power to allocate funds. In view of the fact that the interference of government departments in the relevant work of the Olympic Committee is contrary to the "Olympic Charter", the IOC therefore issued a warning to Italy. If the Italian government cannot guarantee the autonomy of the Italian Olympic Committee, it will ban the flying of the Italian flag and the broadcast of Italian flags at this year's Tokyo Olympics. The national anthem and athletes' uniforms cannot have Italian-related symbols. The Italian government insisted that it would respect CONI's independence and stated that the passage of the bill was in line with the Olympic Charter. Italian Sports Minister Giorgetti said the reforms would continue, saying, "In the process, we will clarify misunderstandings in the IOC letter."

It is reported that the International Olympic Committee has proposed to hold talks with the Italian Olympic Committee in Lausanne this week to "help resolve the dispute." . Since the establishment of the Ministry of Sports and Health, International Olympic Committee President Bach has written to Italian Prime Minister Conte twice last year. Bach also stated in the letter that Italy's qualification to host the 2026 Winter Olympics may also be deprived. Giovanni Marago, president of the Italian Olympic Committee, urged the Italian government to take urgent legislative measures to avoid being punished by the IOC. And if the International Olympic Committee finally bans the Italian flag and national anthem from appearing at the Tokyo Olympics, this punishment will make Italy suffer the same embarrassment as Russia. Unlike the latter which was punished for doping issues, Italy was punished for political interference in sports. ?. The International Olympic Committee has also had a ban on this matter: In 2015, due to the Kuwaiti government's interference in sports, the International Olympic Committee forced the country's athletes to participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics as neutrals and were not allowed to raise the Kuwaiti flag or play the Kuwaiti national anthem. . ?