Usmanov urges IOC to let Russia flag fly at 2018 Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — A leading Russian sports official has urged the IOC to reverse a ban on the country's flag from the Pyeongchang Olympics.

Alisher Usmanov, the president of the International Fencing Federation, said the legal principle of "No guilt, no punishment" means clean Russian athletes are being denied "basic human rights."

"Even though discrimination in any shape or form contradicts the principles of the Olympic Movement, the IOC's decision certainly does put clean Russian athletes on an uneven playing field with athletes from other countries," Usmanov wrote in an open letter to International Olympic Committee executive board members.