The decision was taken following the lifting of the protective measures for Russian and Belarusian athletes, horses and officials agreed at the in-person FEI Board meeting on 19 November.

The criteria

The criteria include no active support for the war in Ukraine, no contract with the Russian or Belarusian military or with any other national security agency, and compliance with all FEI rules and regulations, including the Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes and the FEI Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations. 

They also specify that any form of verbal, non-verbal or written expression, explicit or implicit, at any time since the start of the war in Ukraine, in particular public statements, including those made on social media, participation in pro-war demonstrations or events, and the wearing of any symbol in support of the war in Ukraine, such as the "Z" symbol, will be considered as acts of active support for the war in Ukraine and will prevent individuals from participating in FEI events.

Procedure

To be granted Neutral Individual Athlete, Neutral Individual Support Personnel and Neutral Individual Official status, the respective parties must apply to the FEI Headquarters. They will be required to complete and sign a declaration form confirming full acceptance and compliance with the FEI Criteria for the participation of Russian and Belarusian Athletes, Horses and Officials in FEI Events. 

Once granted Neutral status, Athletes and Support Personnel will only be eligible to compete in individual events and will not be eligible to participate in any FEI team competitions. 

The Neutral Individual Athletes, Neutral Individual Support Personnel, and Neutral Officials are not entitled to compete or participate as representatives of the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus, their National Federations or National Olympic Committees. Flags, emblems and insignia will not be displayed at any FEI Event venue. The national anthems of Russia and Belarus will not be played or sung at any time during FEI competitions at any competition venue. 

The signed declarations can be submitted to the FEI from 15 January 2024 for participation in FEI events from 1 February 2024. The forms will be reviewed and approved within 30 days of receipt.

Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

On 8 December the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that individual neutral athletes who have qualified through the existing qualification systems of the International Federations will be declared eligible to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games under the conditions established by the IOC. 

According to the Olympic qualification system for Equestrian Sport, individual qualification is secured through the FEI Olympic Rankings for Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, which cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023. As Russian and Belarusian athletes have not competed in FEI events since 2 March 2022, there will be no representatives from these nations at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) took a similar decision to the IOC in September, but as with the Olympic Games, as the qualifying events take place in 2023 and Russian and Belarusian athletes have not competed in FEI events since 2 March 2022, no ranking points could be earned and therefore no individual qualifying places could be allocated.

This means that Russia and Belarus will be given the opportunity to return to the equestrian sport, but at the same time, the qualifying requirements close all doors to them for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

Sanctions remain in place

In accordance with the IOC statement of 25 February 2022 calling on International Sports Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events, the measures prohibiting the holding of FEI events in Russia and Belarus remain in place. No FEI events taking place in Russia and Belarus can be included in the FEI calendar for 2024. No officials' courses or other FEI activities will take place in Russia and Belarus for the time being and all FEI solidarity projects in Russia and Belarus remain frozen. 

"The Board approved the strict criteria for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes, support staff  and officials to FEI events with a neutral status, following its decision to lift the protective measures put in place shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The original protective measures were put in place on the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee, but it was recognised that they may no longer be fulfilling their protective role and therefore needed to be reviewed," the International Federation for Equestrian Sports commented. 

"While the process we set out on 14 December 2023 paves the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes, FEI-registered support staff and officials to return to international equestrian sport, difficult times lie ahead," the FEI added.