Olympics news website Insidethegames says 'banned' from Paris 2024

Olympics news website Insidethegames.biz, which was acquired by a Russian-run fund, says it has been effectively "banned" from the Paris Olympics after its accreditation requests were turned down.

The sports website, previously based in England and run by British sports journalist Duncan Mackay for 18 years until last October, was considered an influential source of news on the Olympic movement.

It was sold last October to new owners, Vox Europe Investment Holding, an investment fund with addresses in Britain and Hungary whose ultimate owners remain unknown.

"We feel like we are banned by the IOC (the International Olympic Committee)," chief operating officer for the site, Oleg Denisov, told French news agency AFP on Monday.

"We were thinking of sending four to five journalists with a photographer (to Paris 2024) because the Olympics is the main theme of Insidethegames," Denisov added.

The IOC confirmed to AFP that "they have not been allocated any accreditation" for the 26 July - 11 August Paris Games.

"We have nothing to add," it continued.

IOC request

Denisov said the website had not complied with an IOC request to identify the investors behind the Insidethegames takeover, which reportedly included Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch who is head of the International Boxing Association (IBA).

"There were only directors that were Russians. The owners I am not sure who they are," added Denisov, who is also Russian.

When asked about Kremlev, he replied: "I believe this is speculation. I don't know this information."

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