MILAN, February 13. /TASS/. The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has turned down an appeal from Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladislav Geraskevich contesting his recent disqualification from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy, the court said in a statement on Friday.

"The CAS Ad hoc Division has denied an application by Skeleton athlete Vladislav Geraskevich (Ukraine) against the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC)," the court’s statement reads.

"The Sole Arbitrator, whilst fully sympathetic to Mr Geraskevich’s commemoration, is bound by rules in the IOC Athlete Expression Guidelines," the statement continued. "The Sole Arbitrator considers these Guidelines provide a reasonable balance between athletes' interests to express their views, and athletes' interests to receive undivided attention for their sporting performance on the field of play."

"The Sole Arbitrator is bound by such proportionate rules and has no means to override them. As a consequence, the application was dismissed. The Sole Arbitrator adds that it was unfair to withdraw Mr Geraskevich’s accreditation in these circumstances and supports the decision of the IOC to return it," according to the CAS.

The IOC announced in a statement on February 12 that Geraskevich had been barred from participating in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy for wearing a prohibited helmet, also revoking his Olympic accreditation.

However, later that day the IOC Disciplinary Commission partially amended its verdict regarding the competition ban and Olympic accreditation revocation, allowing Geraskevich to stay at the 2026 Winter Games, while still barring him from competing.

Earlier in the week, the IOC prohibited Geraskevich from wearing the controversial helmet. His helmet featured images of fallen Ukrainian athletes which, the IOC claimed, breached the regulations of the Olympic Charter. The athlete, nevertheless, wore it again for the final test runs before the start of the competitions.

After that, the IOC representatives held a second meeting with the skeleton racer, and he declared that he intended to race wearing this helmet. He also had a meeting with IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday morning to discuss the same issue.

Following his meeting with Coventry, Gerskevich demanded that the IOC apologize and also finance the installation of power generating units at sports facilities across Ukraine.

Geraskevich, 27, has never medaled in international competition. The Ukrainian athlete finished fourth at the 2025 IBSF World Championships; on two occasions he also finished in 4th place at the IBSF World Cup stages, and his best result at the Bobsleigh and Skeleton European Championships was 8th place, which he accomplished earlier this year.

The Ukrainian participated in the last two Olympics before this year's Games, finishing 12th at the 2018 Winter Games and 19th at the 2022 Winter Games. Geraskevich was the Ukrainian national team’s flagbearer at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are taking place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6-22, 2026.