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Lazy eyes listen
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NewsRescue
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has revoked the International Boxing Association’s (IBA’s) Olympic status. In its judgement on Thursday, the IOC noted governance flaws and financial irregularities, but the IBA firmly contested the charges.
During a virtual extraordinary session of the IOC, 69 nations voted in favor of the expulsion, with one member voting against and 10 abstaining.
The committee stated in a statement that it made its decision based on an IOC report on the IBA that was released earlier this month. The boxing association, according to the paper, had failed to meet the IOC’s conditions for removing a ban, which were notified to it in 2021. The suspension was imposed in 2019 owing to governance, finance, refereeing, and ethical issues.
The IOC stated that boxing will be a component of the Paris 2024 Olympics, but competitions will be overseen by committee officials rather than the IBA.
The International Boxing Association (IBA), which is chaired by Russian citizen Umar Kremlev and controls global amateur boxing, submitted an urgent appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to escape expulsion, but its plea was rejected.
The IBA slammed the IOC’s decision as a “tremendous error” in a press release, claiming that it revealed the world sporting body’s “true politicized nature.”
The committee, according to the IBA, “avoided direct communication with the IBA, disregarding the progress we have made.”
“It is clear to many that the IOC’s decision is based on personal animosity and prejudice against someone’s nationality,” the statement said.
The IBA lifted a ban on Russian and Belarussian boxers in October of last year, becoming one of the few worldwide athletic organizations to allow them to perform with their national flags and anthems.
At the time, the association claimed its “obligation to ensure equal treatment towards athletes and competition officials,” claiming that politics should have no bearing on sports.
