IOC make decision on stripping Olympic Games from the US over LA protests as official statement released

The IOC have released a statement over the future of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles amid ongoing unrest in the US city.

Protests began last Friday over US immigration raids orchestrated by President Donald Trump and key members of his administration.

By Thursday, nearly 500 people had been arrested in LA, as reported by BBC News, as violent demonstrations and looting took place.

Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass, told a news conference that the situation had been 'peaceful' prior to the raids, and imposed a night-time curfew over around one square mile of the city from Tuesday onwards.

The Trump administration had enflamed tensions further by deploying over 3,000 members of the Californian National Guard to Los Angeles - an act that was heavily criticised by the city's governor Gavin Newsom.

Such an order had not been made for over 50 years in the United States.

Bass wrote on social media that the curfew decision had been made to 'stop bad actors who are taking advantage of the President's chaotic escalation'.

On Thursday night, a judge declared that Trump's actions were 'illegal' and that he must 'return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith'. The administration quickly appealed the verdict.

In the sporting world, there have been concerns raised about the upcoming 2025 Gold Cup, with matches due to be held around 15 miles away from the unrest in Inglewood, California.

CONCACAF stated on Wednesday: "We will continue to actively monitor developments as we work toward delivering a world-class tournament that highlights the best of our sport in a safe, inclusive, and enjoyable environment for all, starting with the opening match on Saturday, June 14, 2025 in Los Angeles."

There have also been issues surrounding the Club World Cup, with L'Equipe reporting that Atletico Madrid's hotel is situated within the curfew area.

The curfew runs between 8pm and 6am, with Atletico's first match against PSG taking place on Sunday in Pasadena - around 11 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

However, the game is scheduled to go ahead as planned.

Looking further ahead, of course, LA is due to host the Olympics in the summer of 2028.

The IOC has now released a statement to SPORTbible, in which it states it is 'confident' that the LA 2028 Games 'will be great'.

"The Olympic Games LA28 have the full support of the President of the United States, the Governor of California and the Mayor of Los Angeles," a spokesperson said.

"All of them are being extremely helpful in the preparations for these Games.

"The IOC cannot comment on domestic political situations. The political neutrality of the IOC must be applied.

"There are three years to go, and we are confident that LA28 will be great Olympic Games."