Boxing with us - Sport - Kommersant

Boxing with us - Sport - Kommersant



The International Boxing Association (IBA) has become the first major sports organization to radically change its position on the status of Russian and Belarusian athletes, taken after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. The IBA, headed by domestic functionary Umar Kremlev, has canceled the decision to ban their performances in international competitions. The move is likely to only exacerbate the confrontation between the federation and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has long expressed concern over the actions of the IBA and threatened to exclude boxing from the Olympics.

International Boxing Association made public the decision of its key body - the board of directors. He voted to lift the previously imposed ban on the performance of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions. At the same time, we are talking about performances not in a neutral status, but under their national flags.

The IBA said in a statement that it firmly believes that "politics should not have any impact on sport" and "all athletes should have equal rights."

At the same time, the federation clarified that, "remaining politically neutral and independent", "calls for peace" and intends to continue to play the role of "peacemaker in any conflicts."

After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the vast majority of sports organizations, adhering to the "isolationist" recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, suspended Russian representatives from participating in their tournaments. The only exceptions were a few types like tennis and chess.

And the IBA became the first of the major structures in the field of sports, which radically changed its position in relation to Russians and Belarusians. They will be able to return to international competitions soon. The IBA calendar at the end of 2022 looks pretty tight. It, for example, has the October Women's European Championship in Montenegro, the November Youth World Championship, as well as a number of other tournaments.

It is not difficult to assume that the fresh decision of the IBA is unlikely to help end its long-standing conflict with the IOC.

This conflict began at the end of the last decade and did not come to naught, after in 2020 the post of president of the association, which was in deep crisis and deprived of recognition as the head sports structure, was taken by the Russian Umar Kremlev.

Controversy escalated after re-election Mr. Kremlev to the post of head of the association in May this year. The IOC actually refused to recognize the results of the elections in Istanbul, to which the Dutchman Boris van der First, who tried to compete with Umar Kremlin, was not allowed.

A week and a half ago, the IOC declared "extremely serious concern" in connection with the results of the IBA Extraordinary Congress in Yerevan. His delegates could have given the go-ahead for a repeat presidential election—already with the participation of Boris van der First, whose appeal against satisfied Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). But instead, Congress overwhelmingly spoke out against, thus issuing a new credibility to Mr. Kremlin.

A few days ago, the IOC, again using the word "concern", focused on another problem that arose when, shortly before the Yerevan congress, the IBA suspended its membership in the association of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine (FBU). The reason for such a sanction was the June appointment of Kirill Shevchenko as president of the federation. Mr. Shevchenko took the place of Vladimir Prodivus, who had been head of the FBU for a long time, and became a member of the IBA Council, the association's key body. The association considered this step a gross violation of its regulations, which do not allow "state interference" in the affairs of a formally independent organization.

True, the board of directors of the IBA, having opened the way to international competitions for Russians and Belarusians, softened its position on the Ukrainians as well. Despite the fact that the formal suspension of the FBU was upheld, they were allowed to compete under their own flag, that is, in fact, removing all significant restrictions.

The IOC has made it quite clear what measures the IBA's demonstration of independence and autonomy might provoke. For the second time in a row, he excommunicated the federation from control over the Olympic qualification and the Olympic boxing tournament - now as part of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. In addition, boxing is still turned off in the program of the next Games. They will take place in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Alexey Dospekhov



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