World Boxing Championships: Great Britain's men will not compete over Russian flag concerns

GB Boxing besides decided not to vie astatine March's Women's World Championships

Great Britain has chosen to boycott the men's World Boxing Championships implicit concerns astir Russian participation.

It contravenes International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidance that Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to vie nether a neutral flag.

In February, GB's women besides boycotted their World Championships.

The men's lawsuit runs from 30 April-14 May.

GB Boxing said the determination to boycott the tourney "reflects ongoing concerns astir the aboriginal of boxing's spot connected the Olympic programme and the caller determination by IBA to let teams of boxers from Russia and Belarus to vie nether their nationalist flags, which contravenes the IOC's presumption connected the information of athletes from these countries".

The connection continued: "This has enactment further region betwixt IBA and the Olympic question successful summation to the significant, longstanding issues implicit sporting integrity, governance, transparency and fiscal absorption which the IOC has asked IBA to code to support boxing's spot connected the Olympic programme.

"GB Boxing condemns the Russian penetration of Ukraine and has solidarity with the people, boxers, coaches and officials of Ukraine."

Following Russia's penetration of Ukraine, the IOC had called connected sports federations to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus.

However, past week the International Olympic Committee recommended that athletes from those countries are allowed to compete, but nether a neutral flag.

The IBA has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2019 implicit governance issues and alleged corruption.

Boxing astatine the Tokyo Olympics was organised by the IOC and volition beryllium again for Paris 2024, but beyond that the athletics has been near disconnected the archetypal programme for Los Angeles 2028 arsenic the IBA has refused to instrumentality changes the IOC wants.

GB Boxing volition nonstop a squad to the European Games successful Poland, wherever the bulk of places for the Paris Olympics volition beryllium won, which instrumentality spot from 21 June until 2 July.