The International Court of Arbitration for Sport has overturned the non-admission of four candidates in the presidency elections in the world boxing association IBA.
As announced by the Cas, the exclusion of Boris van der Vorst (Netherlands), Michael McAtee (UNITED STATES), Steven Hartley (New Zealand) and Per-Axel Sjöholm (Sweden) disproportionate. Therefore, the single judge upheld the Quartet’s appeal.
A commission of Boxing Independent Integrity Units had considered the four as not eligible for the bodies of the world association. Therefore, they were not allowed in the elections on May 14 this year. Van der Vorst, McAtee, Hartley and Sjöholm had been accused of starting their election campaigns for the board too early. The IBA Disciplinary Committee cleared the quartet of the allegations.
Cas: “Exclusion was disproportionate”
The Cas now found that such a minor violation should have been punished with a warning at most. In addition, the incumbent President committed the same violation and was not sanctioned.
The Russian Umar Kremlev was confirmed as president by acclamation at the congress in Istanbul after van der Vorst was excluded as the only opposing candidate. The International Olympic Committee had criticized the circumstances. IOC President Thomas Bach described it as “not good leadership”.
The IOC had suspended the IBA 2019. Reasons were manipulation of fight verdicts, opaque financial management and shady leaders. Kremlev is backed by Russian energy giant Gazprom, on which the struggling IBA is heavily dependent financially. As long as the IOC is not convinced of reforms in the IBA, boxing is threatened with an Olympic end. Boxing was initially not included in the competition program for the 2028 Summer Games.
The IBA announced that it had taken note of the Cas’ decision. Legal advice on the impact will be sought and appropriate action will be considered on June 24 when the newly elected board meets in Lausanne. Whether there will be new elections remains to be seen.