Azerbaijan's Ministry of Sports, NOC condemn discriminatory comments by French TV host

During the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, a correspondent from the French state television channel France 2 displayed blatant discrimination while commenting on the parade of athletes from Azerbaijan and Armenia. The commentator accused the Azerbaijani side of initiating clashes with the Armenians, while praising Armenia as a friendly country to France and noting that this year was memorable for the Armenian people due to the "fall of Nagorno-Karabakh" under the onslaught of the Azerbaijani army.

According to Report, in a joint statement, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee strongly condemned this anti-Azerbaijani provocation at the Paris Olympics. They emphasized that such actions are a clear violation of the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter, which have been reaffirmed and supported by several United Nations General Assembly resolutions, including the "Recognition of the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter" (A/RES/78/10).

The Olympic Charter explicitly states that the mission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is to promote Olympism worldwide, lead the Olympic Movement, and oppose any political or commercial exploitation of sport and athletes. In response to the incident, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee have sent an official letter of protest to the IOC, emphasizing that such disrespectful treatment by a state television channel towards Azerbaijan is an open violation of the Olympic Charter.

The Azerbaijani authorities stressed that such propaganda not only contradicts the spirit of the Games but also undermines the peaceful efforts between Azerbaijan and Armenia. They called on the IOC to take a firm stance against the politicization of sport during the Paris Olympics 2024, issue a public statement, and express protest to the French government, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, and the television channel in question.