We are not big fans of sports administrators but on this occasion we must applaud the stance taken by the International Olympic Committee who kicked out a proposal from Saudi Arabia that they should be allowed to bid for a men only Olympics. They had wanted to have the Women’s events to be hosted by Bahrain.
Let us not forget that only under immense pressure did Saudi Arabia send two female athletes to London in 2012. This was tokenism at its best. Come the Asian Games last year they reverted to sending a purely male delegation.
Many feel that although the IOC sensibly rejected this idea, they need to take a far stronger line and make it clear that unless Saudi Arabia cease this sexist approach they will not be welcome to participate at future Olympics. After all it is the IOC who invite each nation to participate. Maybe next year the invitation needs to be lost in the post.
