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Most Scandalous Olympic Boycotts of All Time

© REUTERS / Ricardo MoraesThe 2016 Rio Olympics mascot Vinicius attends the inauguration ceremony of the Olympic Rings placed at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 21, 2016.
The 2016 Rio Olympics mascot Vinicius attends the inauguration ceremony of the Olympic Rings placed at the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 21, 2016. - Sputnik International
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On Sunday, the IOC made a decision not to ban the entire Russian team from participating in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, leaving it to the respective International Federations to decide on whether individual Russian athletes will be participating in the competition.

A woman walks past Olympic rings placed at the entrance of a office building ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 19, 2016. - Sputnik International
Russian Team Not Banned from Rio Olympics - IOC
The IOC also noted that Russian athletes with a doping record will be suspended from participating in the competition, including Russian track and field athletes who won't be able to take part in the Games in accordance with the previous decision made by IAAF.

However, this is not the first time that scandals have broken out in the Olympic games. Sputnik presents some of the most memorable and controversial cases in history.

1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp

This was the first time the International Olympic Committee rejected the participation of several countries for political reasons.

© AP PhotoCharles (Charley) Paddock, second from right, of the USA wins the 100 meters final with his famous "flying finish" at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. (File)
Charles (Charley) Paddock, second from right, of the USA wins the 100 meters final with his famous flying finish at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. (File) - Sputnik International
Charles (Charley) Paddock, second from right, of the USA wins the 100 meters final with his famous "flying finish" at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. (File)

Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria were suspended due to the outbreak of the First World War. In addition, the organizers did not invite athletes from the USSR, ignoring the new Soviet regime.

1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin

The IOC decided to give Germany the opportunity to return to the arena after the defeat in WW1.

© AP PhotoAmerican Jesse Owens runs in 21.1 seconds to win his elimination heats in the Olympic 200-meter dash during the Berlin Olympics, August 8, 1936. (File)
American Jesse Owens runs in 21.1 seconds to win his elimination heats in the Olympic 200-meter dash during the Berlin Olympics, August 8, 1936. (File) - Sputnik International
American Jesse Owens runs in 21.1 seconds to win his elimination heats in the Olympic 200-meter dash during the Berlin Olympics, August 8, 1936. (File)

The calls for a boycott of the Games in the capital of the Third Reich remained unheeded. The plans of the opponents of Nazi Germany to host an alternative People’s Olympic Games in Barcelona failed as a civil war had broken out. The Spaniards missed the competition.

1948 Summer Olympics in London

Olympics of 1940 and 1944 did not take place as the Second World War was going on. After it ended, the IOC publicly apologized for cooperating with the Nazi leaders and selecting the capital of the Third Reich as the venue for the Olympic Games.

© AP PhotoBritish athlete John Mark holds the Olympic Flame aloft as he makes his circuit of the Olympic track during the opening ceremony of the XIV Olympiad, in Wembley Stadium, London, July 29, 1948. (File)
British athlete John Mark holds the Olympic Flame aloft as he makes his circuit of the Olympic track during the opening ceremony of the XIV Olympiad, in Wembley Stadium, London, July 29, 1948. (File) - Sputnik International
British athlete John Mark holds the Olympic Flame aloft as he makes his circuit of the Olympic track during the opening ceremony of the XIV Olympiad, in Wembley Stadium, London, July 29, 1948. (File)

Germany and Japan, as the countries that unleashed the global conflict, were denied the right to participate in the games.

1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne

Disengagement from the participation in the competition was massive and voluntary. Egypt boycotted the Franco-British-Israeli aggression during the Suez crisis. It was joined by Iraq, Lebanon and Cambodia.

© AP PhotoWinning the Men's 1500 meters Summer Olympic Games event at the Olympic Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on December 1, 1956. (File)
Winning the Men's 1500 meters Summer Olympic Games event at the Olympic Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on December 1, 1956. (File) - Sputnik International
Winning the Men's 1500 meters Summer Olympic Games event at the Olympic Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on December 1, 1956. (File)

China opposed the invitation of Taiwan to the Olympics. The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland expressed their protest against the suppression of the uprising in Hungary by the Soviet troops.

1972 Summer Olympics in Munich

Wishing to restore the image of a peaceful Germany, the authorities deliberately weakened the control of the Olympic Village.

This resulted in a terrorist attack in which Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli team members.

© AP PhotoA rainbow in the five Olympic colors is displayed during the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games on September 11, 1972 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany. (File)
A rainbow in the five Olympic colors is displayed during the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games on September 11, 1972 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany. (File) - Sputnik International
A rainbow in the five Olympic colors is displayed during the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games on September 11, 1972 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany. (File)

The IOC decided to continue with the games. In protest, the surviving team members left the Olympics and in fear of revenge the Egyptian delegation left Munich.

1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow

This was the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that they were held in Eastern Europe.

The United States boycotted the socialist country. The official reason was the Soviet involvement in Afghanistan but in fact, the boycott was a continuation of the “Cold War.”

© Sputnik / Valeriy Shustov / Go to the mediabankOpening of the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow. (File)
Opening of the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow. (File) - Sputnik International
Opening of the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow. (File)

The US was formally supported by more than fifty countries, but, unlike the US, those countries did not ban their athletes from competing in Moscow.

1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles

The next Summer Olympics, which, ironically, was held in the United States, was boycotted by the USSR and all the socialist countries, with the exception of China, Romania and Yugoslavia.

© AP Photo / Armando TrovatiScene at closing ceremonies at the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles, Calif., Aug. 12, 1984. (File)
Scene at closing ceremonies at the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles, Calif., Aug. 12, 1984. (File) - Sputnik International
Scene at closing ceremonies at the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles, Calif., Aug. 12, 1984. (File)

The official reason was the refusal of the organizers to guarantee security to the athletes, but there is little doubt that the boycott was a retort to the boycott of the Moscow Games earlier.

As a result, due to the lack of competition, the Americans set a record for the most gold medals.

1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul

The IOC rejected the proposal by South Korean authorities to transfer part of the Olympic events to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in order to show the unity of the peninsula.

© AP Photo / Mark DuncanThe Olympic torch towers above the Olympic stadium in Seoul Sept. 17, 1988, during the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympic Games in Seoul. (File)
The Olympic torch towers above the Olympic stadium in Seoul Sept. 17, 1988, during the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympic Games in Seoul. (File) - Sputnik International
The Olympic torch towers above the Olympic stadium in Seoul Sept. 17, 1988, during the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympic Games in Seoul. (File)

Pyongyang protested this decision and banned their athletes from participating in the Games. North Korea was supported by Albania, Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Seychelles and Ethiopia.

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