France to get conditional approval to host 2030 Winter Games at IOC meeting before Paris Olympics

International Olympic Committe President Thomas Bach durng the first day of the 142nd IOC Session, three days ahead of the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on July 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 24 July 2024
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France to get conditional approval to host 2030 Winter Games at IOC meeting before Paris Olympics

  • The IOC had wanted its traditional eve-of-Olympics meeting in Paris to confirm France as the 2030 host and give Salt Lake City the 2034 Winter Games
  • French President Emmanuel Macron still fully supports the 2030 Winter Games, national Olympic leader David Lappartient said at a news conference

PARIS: France will get just a partial Olympic win on Wednesday when its bid to host the 2030 Winter Games is presented to IOC members.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach confirmed Tuesday that full approval for the bid — centered on ski resorts in the French Alps and coastal city Nice — cannot be given since parliamentary elections this month left France with only a caretaker national government.

“There will be a vote on the 2030 project but it will be a vote being linked with conditions,” Bach said about a scheduled meeting Wednesday, hours before team sports start play at the Paris Summer Games.

The IOC had wanted its traditional eve-of-Olympics meeting in Paris to confirm France as the 2030 host and give Salt Lake City the 2034 Winter Games.

Salt Lake City will be confirmed by the IOC as the preferred and only candidate, bringing the Winter Games back to Utah 32 years after hosting in 2002.

Potential Olympic hosts need sign-off from different layers of government to guarantee funding and services such as security, which are essential to plan and run the games.

French President Emmanuel Macron still fully supports the 2030 Winter Games, national Olympic leader David Lappartient said at a news conference.

“Even if there is not a majority in the parliament, there is a strong majority behind the games,” said Lappartient, adding progress was made in recent weeks that let a conditional vote be agreed.

Lappartient has a growing reputation as a potential successor to Bach, especially after helping the IOC steer the first Olympic Esports Games to Saudi Arabia in a 12-year hosting deal. That deal was formally approved Tuesday after a 25-minute presentation by Saudi Olympic officials seeking to promote how the Kingdom is using sports to modernize its society.

Bach’s 12-year term leading the Olympic body expires next year. Term limits were introduced as part of anti-corruption reforms that were passed in the fallout from the scandal of IOC members seeking and getting favors from Salt Lake City officials during its 2002 campaign.

Bach’s exit is still not assured while IOC officials weigh a proposal to change its rules that would let him stand again. The issue has been postponed until after the Paris Olympics.

One athlete entered in the Olympics was taken out of the games Tuesday in a doping case.

Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit said Polish high jumper Norbert Kobielski was provisionally suspended because he tested positive for pentedrone norephedrine. Kobielski placed 10th in the world championships last year.

Asked how he felt about an eve-of-Olympics doping case, Bach replied: “Good to keep the cheaters out of the games.”


Newcastle’s Howe slams ‘stonewall penalty’ snub as defensive woes continue

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Newcastle’s Howe slams ‘stonewall penalty’ snub as defensive woes continue

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe criticized the referee for not awarding a “stonewall penalty” in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Saturday, dismissing the officials’ explanations as his side extended their alarming habit of dropping ​points after leading.
Howe was left frustrated after his team let slip another two-goal lead, with Newcastle now dropping 13 points from winning positions this season after Nick Woltemade’s first-half double was canceled out by Chelsea’s second-half comeback.
But Newcastle felt aggrieved when Trevoh Chalobah made a robust challenge on Anthony Gordon in the second half, with appeals for a penalty dismissed by the referee and VAR.
“I think it’s a clear penalty. I think anywhere ‌else on ‌the pitch, that’s a free kick,” Howe told ‌TNT ⁠Sports.
“I ​think the ‌player has got into Anthony aggressively, too aggressively in my opinion, so I think it’s a stonewall.”
The Premier League match center said a penalty was denied because contact from Chalobah on Gordon was deemed to be “side-to-side in a shielding action” and because the ball was “within playing distance” — an explanation Howe rejected outright.
“No, because it’s not. I think the defender’s only look is Anthony, not the ⁠ball, and I think it’s too aggressive,” he added.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said he did not ‌see it as a penalty but was happy ‍to take a point under the ‍circumstances.
“I think there are not many teams that are 2-0 down at ‍halftime — against this team in this stadium — and they can come back,” he said.
“Today I’m very happy because I feel proud of the players. It’s not easy at 2-0 down to show character and come back ... The game was 50-50 and ​enjoyable for the fans.”

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Howe will lament his side failing to win at St. James’ Park, where Reece James and ⁠Joao Pedro salvaged a point for Chelsea.
Newcastle have now gone 10 Premier League games without a clean sheet to leave them 11th and could slip down the table depending on results over the rest of the weekend.
“We’ve not done our jobs and followed through and won today, but that’s something we’re reflecting on and analizing all the time” Howe said.
“I think we’ve been in a good place since the last international break. When we returned and we beat Manchester City (in November), I think we’ve seen a big upturn in the consistency of performance.
“We had the dip at Sunderland (a 1-0 defeat), but that apart, ‌I think we’ve been very good. I’m positive about the team and the trajectory we’re on. I’m disappointed with the results.”