Sports
0

Boxing May Be Expelled From 2020 Summer Olympics

Boxing May Be Expelled From 2020 Summer Olympics
Boxing May Be Expelled From 2020 Summer Olympics

Boxing faces expulsion from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games unless governance issues, including the choice of the world governing body’s interim president, are addressed, the International Olympic Committee warned on Sunday.

Among serious problems highlighted by IOC President Thomas Bach included the appointment of Gafur Rakhimov, an Uzbek linked to organized crime, as interim president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), Insidethegames reported.

Rakhimov has repeatedly been named as a mafia boss in the media with strong links to organized crime, although he has never been prosecuted for anything.

An investigation into AIBA governance has been opened by the IOC, run by its chief ethics and compliance officer, Paquerette Girard-Zappelli.

Bach also said they have not yet accepted AIBA’s claim that no bouts at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro were affected by match-fixing.

“We are extremely worried about the governance of AIBA,” the German said. “We have received a report from our chief ethics officer and from the IOC Sports director [Kit McConnell], which funneled the decision which we already took last December to withhold future financial contributions to AIBA. The IOC Executive Board is not satisfied with the report prepared by AIBA on governance, finance, referee and doping issues”.

Specific concerns raised included “issues surrounding the new interim president”, the lack of “clarity” around finances, the failure of an approved project to reform the referees system and the absence of a “robust anti-doping program”.

Add new comment

Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints

Financialtribune.com