IOC president confident that 2014 Sochi Olympics will be free from 'gay discrimination'

The president of the International Olympic Council (IOC), Thomas Bach has said he is confident that there will be no discrimination against gay athletes and visitors at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Bach had reportedly met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek assurances over the country's controversial anti-gay law, which has overshadowed the build-up to the Games.

According to The Guardian, however, the IOC president said that Putin reassured him that everyone would be welcome at the Games, 'regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation', adding that this applies to spectators, officials, media and athletes.

The law, which prohibits propaganda of 'non-traditional sexual relations' among people below 18, has been widely condemned and led to calls to boycott the Games amid fears that gay athletes and visitors could be discriminated against, the report added.