Elena Vyalbe had been an FIS Council member but was not re-elected last year after revealing her support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine ©Getty Images

Russian Ski Association President Elena Vyalbe has insisted that any move to use a neutral flag in international competition would offend Russian soldiers and constitute a "betrayal of the motherland".

Vyalbe's comments come after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board recommended that individual Russian and Belarusian athletes should be able to return to competition, if they are not in support of the invasion of Ukraine or a member of the military.

This would still be under a neutral flag, however, with symbols and national anthems remaining banned.

"Would the guys who are now sitting in the trenches and fighting for us not be offended by the fact that we give up and go to competitions with a white rag?" Vyalbe asked Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"I am against a neutral status and I will convince my athletes that we should not be traitors to the motherland."

Elena Vyalbe won the first of her three Olympic gold medals competing under the neutral Olympic flag for the Unified Team in 1992 ©Getty Images
Elena Vyalbe won the first of her three Olympic gold medals competing under the neutral Olympic flag for the Unified Team in 1992 ©Getty Images

Vyalbe, who is also head coach to the national team, was elected as a member of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation Council in 2021.

She lost her place in May after announcing her support for the war.

At the Albertville 1992 Winter Olympics, Vyalbe won the first of her three Olympic gold medals in cross-country in the 4x5 kilometre relay.

She competed under the Olympic flag as a member of the Unified Team which was formed after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Vyalbe is the latest prominent Russian official to voice criticism of the neutral flag policy.

Last month, after the Russian flag was displayed at the International Boxing Association Women's World Championships in New Delhi, Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin insisted that it should be "normal" for the national flag to be used.

Russia's flag was used at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last month ©IBA
Russia's flag was used at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last month ©IBA

He told insidethegames: "I think for every country it is important that you present the country with all symbols, including the flag."

Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Pozdnyakov, who had encouraged Russians to fight in the war, described the IOC's measures as "unfair and unacceptable".

Russian Swimming Federation President Vladimir Salnikov, a quadruple Olympic gold medallist, last week described the criteria for the return of Russian athletes as "a perversion of the movement's principles".