The BOA chief executive Andy Anson and Shahab Uddin, head of legal and Olympic relations, were present in the South Korean capital and have held a series of meetings with stakeholders.

But they have been refusing to enter the auditorium where the Assembly took place as they did not want to be in the same room as representatives from the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus (NOCRB).

Like many Western European countries, they have been uncomfortable with the presence of the two nations.

The ROC and NOCRB have been allowed to attend because, while athletes from these countries are currently banned from competing internationally, officials are still mostly allowed to attend and participate in meetings like this.

The Latvian Olympic Committee (LOK) announced before the start of the meeting yesterday that they would boycott the event if Russia and Belarus were allowed to attend.

In a letter addressed to ANOC's then Acting President Robin Mitchell, the LOK, together with the NOCs of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Poland, Norway and Sweden, it was claimed that the invasion of Ukraine "has created an extraordinary dangerous situation with possible global impacts."

But the ANOC Executive Committee confirmed on Tuesday (November 18) that Russia and Belarus were allowed to participate.

During a keynote address to the Assembly yesterday, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach defended the decision.

"This war has not been started by the Russian people, the Russian athletes, the Russian Olympic Committee or the IOC members in Russia," he told delegates.

"Sanctions can and should only be imposed on those who are responsible for something."

Tensions have been running high, though, after a tense exchange between Bach and the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark President Hans Natorp over whether officials should be banned or not.

Earlier today, Natorp walked out of the Assembly in protest after ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov appeared to give a speech to delegates.

Natorp accused him of using "inappropriate propaganda" during a video presentation in his role as chair of the ANOC Culture and Education Commission.

The BOA’s protest has been much more low-key than Denmark's but illustrates how the issue over Russia is dividing opinion within the Olympic Movement and causing bitterness.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.

This week Russia has hit Ukraine with a wave of attacks, dive-bombing the capital, Kyiv, with what appear to be Iranian made "kamikaze" drones.

Critical infrastructure was hit in the Kyiv, Dnipro and Sumy regions, with electricity cut in hundreds of towns and villages.

The recent developments are believed to have convinced the BOA to make their decision to avoid contact with the ROC and NOCRB at this Assembly.