Russian Athletes Are Not Allowed to Wear Snazzy, Nationalistic Outfits at the 2018 Olympics

Athletes competing for Russia at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea will likely be sporting some stylistic duds, thanks to set of stringent guidelines governing their uniforms released Wednesday.

Thanks to a widespread and allegedly state-sanctioned doping scandal that involved passing cups of urine through a hole in the wall, mother Russia has been banned from competing as a nation in the upcoming snow-capped sportsfest that is the Winter Olympics.

But while the nation as a whole has been banned, there are still drug-free Russian athletes who will be allowed to compete under the label “Olympic Athlete from Russia,” reports NPR.

In an effort to quash any nationalistic fashion statements by these neutral athletes, the IOC released a list of rules Wednesday morning regarding exactly how uniforms should appear.

Clothing may bear one of only two phrases: “Olympic Athlete from Russia” or “O.A.R.” Officials also announced that the print size for the words “Olympic Athlete from” should be equivalent to the word “Russia” and that fonts should be in English and “as generic as possible.”

Uniforms may also only feature two colors, preempting any attempts to emulate the Russian red, white and blue flag. And what if some sneaky Russian designer tries to get cheeky by pairing blue pants with a red and white top? That’s also a no-go, according to the IOC: “Separate items of clothing cannot create a tricolor.”

Even the shades of red and blue have been specified. The IOC prefers a shade “darker in color” than those “used in the Russian Federation flag.”

The IOC also published a potential logo for the nation-neutral uniforms, and it is objectively suuuuper boring.

If all of this is making you feel bad for the already publicly shamed “Athletes from Russia,” fear not: the IOC fashion police may actually be saving those athletes from something as tragic (or great?) as this.

What do you think of the Russian athlete uniform restrictions? Tell us @britandco!

(Photo by Mikhail Metzel\TASS via Getty Images)