EOC President Spyros Capralos hopes no athlete from the continent will be barred from competing at future European Games "because of their passport" ©Getty Images

European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros Capralos hopes no athlete from the continent will be barred from competing at future European Games "because of their passport".

Russian and Belarusian athletes were not allowed to participate in any event at the recently concluded Kraków-Małopolska 2023 European Games.

Poland has criticised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for relaxing its recommended ban in March.

The country has played a crucial role in refugee relief effort since Russia invaded Ukrainian last year.

"The EOC Executive Committee took its decision regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in line with the Polish Government position and before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued new guidelines offering a pathway for the inclusion of independent neutral athletes from those countries," Capralos said.

"We hope, in the future, that no athlete from our continent will be prevented from competing in the European Games simply because of their passport.

"This is a fundamental principle of the Olympic Charter, which the EOC fully upholds."

The Greek official also spoke glowingly about the broadcast success of the third edition of the European Games in Poland.

He referenced Belgian shot-putter Jolienne Boumkwo who went viral after a heartwarming gesture that saw her run the 100 metres hurdles after teammate Anne Zagre pulled out of the European Team Championships in the last minute.

"Performances were shared via record free-to-air broadcast coverage of the European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023 across 40 national markets," he said.

"But we know that it is harder than ever to cut through the multiplicity of entertainment options that are now available on every screen.

"To achieve this requires every digital platform to amplify each other. It requires coordination and imagination.

"Viral videos can generate audiences that would cost hundreds of thousands of euros of advertising to assemble.

"But this viral success does not simply happen by accident.

"Take for example, the video clips of Belgian shot-putter Jolienne Boumkwo supporting her team by running the 100m hurdles. They were seen hundreds of millions of times."

You can read the full blog by Capralos here.