IOC urges federations to avoid Indonesia after Israeli gymnasts denied entry

Visa ban puts Indonesia's Olympic ambitions on hold

The International Olympic Committee has urged international sports federations to avoid holding competitions or meetings in Indonesia after the country denied visas to Israeli gymnasts for the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta. As the championship week unfolded, the dispute widened from access to one competition into a challenge to Indonesia's future as an international sports host.

The IOC executive board halted discussions about Indonesian bids for Olympic events, including the Youth Olympic Games and the 2036 Summer Olympics. Those talks will remain frozen until the government guarantees entry to every eligible athlete, regardless of nationality. The committee also plans to change Olympic qualification requirements so that access guarantees become a condition for hosting qualifying competitions.

Artem Dolgopyat, the reigning world floor champion, Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist and Paris 2024 silver medalist, was among the athletes kept out. Israel was one of dozens of teams registered for the championships, which began the previous week, but its athletes and officials could not travel after Indonesian authorities confirmed they would not receive visas.

Indonesia's government has defended the refusal through its constitutional principles, support for Palestinian statehood and concerns about public order. Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir said the country accepts the consequences. The IOC has summoned Indonesia's National Olympic Committee and the International Gymnastics Federation, known as FIG, to a meeting in Lausanne to discuss the case and the wider question of athlete access.

As of October 23, 2025, the Jakarta championships were continuing without the Israeli team. The disagreement now affects athletes seeking places in international competition, federations choosing host countries and Indonesia's ambition to stage more major sporting events.

Why Indonesia refused entry

Indonesia, the world's largest majority Muslim nation, has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long supported Palestinian statehood. Its officials described the visa decision as consistent with a longstanding position that Indonesia will not engage with Israel until Palestinian independence is recognized.

Senior legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the ban followed objections from within government and from clerics. The Indonesian Ulema Council had opposed the arrival of an Israeli delegation, while other religious organizations and parts of the political class also supported the refusal.

Jakarta's governor said the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Gaza made the arrival of Israeli athletes unacceptable to many residents and a source of emotional distress. Officials argued that admitting the delegation could trigger protests and threaten public order. The government maintained the visa ban even after a recent ceasefire in Gaza.

Thohir grounded the policy in Indonesia's 1945 Constitution and the government's duty to maintain order. His office also presented it as consistent with national law and the principle of preserving world order. He said Indonesia would continue participating in regional and global sporting events while protecting security at home.

What the IOC has asked federations to do

The IOC executive board recommended that international federations avoid staging competitions or meetings in Indonesia until the government gives firm assurances that all eligible participants can enter. The recommendation reaches beyond gymnastics, placing the country's suitability to host events across the Olympic movement under scrutiny.

The committee also stopped talks on Indonesian bids for the Olympics, the Youth Olympics and other events under the Olympic umbrella. For Indonesia, the immediate condition for reopening those discussions is a government commitment covering all eligible delegations, without exclusions based on nationality.

The IOC said in an official note that the visa refusal harmed both the athletes and the purpose of international sport:

These actions deprive athletes of their right to compete peacefully and prevent the Olympic movement from showing the power of sport.

The executive board's response combines pressure on future hosting decisions with a proposed change to Olympic qualification rules. Federations would need to secure clear, enforceable access guarantees for any tournament that determines who qualifies for the Games. That would make permission to enter the host country part of the conditions for staging the competition.

Why entry guarantees matter

The Olympic Charter commits the Olympic movement to access without discrimination and to political neutrality. For a host, those principles have practical consequences: eligible athletes and officials need visas, and they need a safe environment in which to compete.

FIG statutes also require host authorities to ensure visas. When a government refuses entry, federations are expected to protect participation by setting conditions before awarding an event or by relocating it. FIG nevertheless kept the world championships in Jakarta after the Indonesian refusal.

The IOC's proposed qualification changes would place greater weight on guarantees before a competition takes place. An Olympic qualifier is an event whose results help decide which athletes can compete at the Games. If an eligible athlete cannot enter the country, that athlete loses the chance to take part in that route to qualification.

Federations could consequently seek written assurances from governments and move tournaments when entry is denied. Countries able to issue visas without political conditions could become alternative venues. The IOC has also reminded sporting bodies to provide equal opportunity regardless of nationality, while respecting the autonomy of federations and their own rules.

Why the court appeals did not change the event

The Israel Gymnastics Federation took urgent appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, or CAS. It asked the tribunal to order FIG to guarantee Israeli participation or to move or cancel the Jakarta championships.

CAS rejected those requests. The panel also refused to annul FIG's acknowledgment of the Indonesian government's position. With the legal challenges unsuccessful and FIG retaining Jakarta as the venue, the competition proceeded without Israel.

CAS is an independent tribunal for disputes in world sport. In urgent cases, arbitrators consider federation rules and the immediate harm involved when deciding whether to order action before an event goes ahead. Here, the Israeli federation sought a remedy while there was still a competition for its athletes to enter, but the tribunal's decisions left the arrangements in place.

The case therefore involved several bodies with different powers. Indonesia controlled entry at its border, FIG controlled the championships, CAS considered the appeals, and the IOC addressed the broader conditions for hosting events within the Olympic movement. The IOC's subsequent measures focused on future hosting and access requirements while the Jakarta event continued.

The athletes who lost their chance to compete

Dolgopyat's absence brought a world champion and an Olympic medalist into the center of the dispute. His titles include gold at Tokyo 2020 and silver at Paris 2024, as well as the reigning world floor championship. He and his teammates had prepared for Jakarta but were kept out by the visa decision.

A world championship is a major target in a gymnast's training calendar. Athletes spend months preparing to reach their best form for that particular competition. Missing it can disrupt training plans and affect rankings, selection and funding for gymnasts pursuing those goals.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation condemned the visa ban after the decision became public:

Shocking and heartbreaking.

Yael Arad, who heads the Olympic Committee of Israel, welcomed the IOC's response as a defense of equal opportunity and fair play. Her support placed the focus on athletes being able to compete under the same entry conditions as other eligible delegations.

Indonesia's hosting record adds weight to the dispute

Indonesia has sought more major international events since hosting the 2018 Asian Games and has expressed interest in the 2036 Summer Olympics. The IOC freeze places those ambitions on hold until the government provides the required entry guarantees.

The Jakarta dispute follows earlier clashes over Israeli participation. In 2023, FIFA removed the Under 20 World Cup from Indonesia after some regional leaders objected to Israel's team. The ANOC World Beach Games were later canceled after Indonesian authorities withdrew support amid resistance to Israeli participation.

Indonesia also refused to host Israeli athletes at the 1962 Asian Games. Together, these episodes show why the current dispute extends beyond the arrangements for a single gymnastics championship: international governing bodies must decide whether future delegations will be able to enter before choosing Indonesia as a host.

The main developments span several periods:

• 1962: Indonesia refused to host Israeli athletes at the Asian Games.
• 2018: Indonesia hosted the Asian Games, an important part of its recent record as a major sports host.
• 2023: FIFA removed the Under 20 World Cup from Indonesia after objections to Israeli participation. The ANOC World Beach Games were later canceled after authorities withdrew support.
• The week before October 23, 2025: The 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships began in Jakarta, with the Israeli delegation unable to enter.
• By October 23, 2025: CAS had rejected the Israeli federation's urgent requests, and the IOC had urged federations to avoid Indonesia while freezing Olympic hosting discussions.

A wider debate over nationality and participation

International sport has faced other disputes over whether athletes should compete when their governments are involved in war or political conflict. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many federations barred Russian and Belarusian teams or allowed only athletes competing as neutrals.

Neutral participation means athletes compete without representing their country in the usual way. Those arrangements are decisions made under the rules of the relevant sporting bodies. In Jakarta, the immediate barrier was the host government's refusal to issue visas to an eligible delegation.

United Nations experts had also urged soccer bodies in recent months to suspend Israel from international competition over the treatment of Palestinians. Those calls form part of a broader argument about who should be admitted to sport and under what conditions, although the circumstances of each case differ.

Indonesia's officials have framed their decision around constitutional values, solidarity with Palestinians and the risk of unrest. The IOC has focused on equal access for athletes regardless of nationality. That conflict leaves federations responsible for choosing venues where their participation rules can be carried out in practice.

What happens after Jakarta

The IOC has called Indonesia's National Olympic Committee and FIG to Lausanne to address both the exclusion of the Israeli gymnasts and future access requirements. No date for the meeting had been announced as of October 23.

Indonesia's return to consideration for Olympic hosting depends on formal guarantees that every eligible delegation can enter. For federations selecting future qualifying venues, the IOC's planned rules would make those commitments a requirement tied directly to Olympic qualification.

Thohir's ministry says Indonesia will continue developing national sports programs and participating in international competitions. The pressure is on the country's role as a host: the IOC has frozen hosting discussions and recommended that federations avoid events and meetings there until access is guaranteed.

The championships in Jakarta continue without the Israeli team. The next step identified by the IOC is the Lausanne meeting, where Indonesia's Olympic representatives and FIG are expected to address how participation can be protected in future competitions.

Key Points

• The IOC urged international federations to avoid competitions and meetings in Indonesia after Israeli gymnasts were denied visas for the Jakarta world championships.
• Discussions about Indonesian bids for Olympic events, including the Youth Olympics and the 2036 Summer Games, are frozen pending entry guarantees.
• Indonesia cited its 1945 Constitution, public order and support for Palestinian statehood in defending the refusal.
• Artem Dolgopyat and his teammates could not compete. CAS rejected urgent requests to secure their participation or move or cancel the event.
• FIG retained Jakarta as the host despite the visa refusal and its statutes requiring host authorities to ensure visas.
• The IOC plans to require enforceable access guarantees for Olympic qualifying competitions.
• Indonesia's National Olympic Committee and FIG have been summoned to Lausanne. No meeting date had been announced.
• The dispute follows earlier clashes over Israeli participation, including the loss of the 2023 FIFA Under 20 World Cup and the later cancellation of the ANOC World Beach Games.