The IOC claimed the decision was taken by its ruling Executive Board to "protect the Olympic movement in Kuwait".

The suspension took effect January 1 and means that the KOC is banned from competing in the Olympics.

The ban will have little effect for the Vancouver Games, which open on February 12, as Kuwait has never competed in the Winter Olympics.

But it could impact on London 2012 as Kuwait have sent a team to every Summer Olympics since Mexico City in 1968, with their only medal coming at Sydney in 2000 when Fehaid Al Deehani won a bronze in the men's double trap shooting.

The IOC said Kuwait had  failed to meet a December 31 deadline for amending a law that allows the Gulf state to interfere in elections of sports organisations.

The IOC had been working with Kuwaiti officials since 2007 to resolve the issue.

The law currently allows the Government some say and the IOC notes that "the sports legislation currently in force in Kuwait reveals clear interference by the public authorities in the internal functioning of the country’s sports organizations, which is contrary to the Olympic Movement’s principle of autonomy".

The suspension means Kuwaiti athletes and officials, apart from being barred from the Olympic Games, can also not attend Olympic meetings and the KOC will no longer receive any Olympic funding.


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