President of the Russian Weightlifting Federation Maxim Agapitov protested the verdict of the International Weightlifting Federation

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the President of the Russian Weightlifting Federation (FTAR), Maxim Agapitov, who managed to appeal the verdict of the disciplinary bodies of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). They found him guilty of causing reputational damage to IWF Vice President Attila Adamfi and ordered him to pay the latter $7 thousand. Two years ago, this conflict cost Mr. Agapitov his post as head of the structure that oversees weightlifting in Europe.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport sided with FTAR President Maxim Agapitov in his litigation with IWF leaders. The confrontation began back in 2021, when the IWF Ethics and Disciplinary Commission reprimanded Mr. Agapitov and ordered him to pay IWF Vice President Attila Adamfi (who took office last summer) $7 thousand in compensation for moral damages. Maxim Agapitov did not agree with this decision, protested it, and, apparently, not in vain.

The IWF has been in a state of crisis for many years, primarily caused by the widespread practice of doping in weightlifting. The crisis entered its acute phase at the beginning of 2020, when Tamas Ajan, who led the IWF for 20 years, resigned. Then a documentary was released on the German TV channel ARD, the authors of which accused Mr. Ayan of covering up cases of doping and corruption. Following this, the federation invited Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren to conduct an independent investigation. In his report, he confirmed the existence of “corruption at the highest level” and reported that more than $10 million had disappeared without a trace from IWF accounts. Later, a report from the International Doping Testing Agency (ITA) appeared. It spoke of gross violations of anti-doping regulations committed by high-ranking IWF functionaries. There was also a second part of Mr McLaren’s report, but it was not made public due to concerns about legal claims from those mentioned in it.

The IWF failed to completely rid itself of the legacy of Tamás Ajan. He retained influence on the structure through IWF General Director Attila Adamfi, who is the ex-IWF President’s son-in-law. Actually, during the election campaign – and Mr. Agapitov first applied for the post of president and then vice-president of the IWF – statements were made by the president of FTAR, which became the basis for sanctions against him. Maxim Agapitov accused Attila Adamfi of illegally obtaining confidential information, and also mentioned that he appeared in the second part of Richard McLaren’s report.

During the confrontation with Mr. Adamfi, Maxim Agapitov lost his post as acting president of the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF). In September 2021, 29 representatives of national federations belonging to the EWF voted for a vote of no confidence in him (the structure includes 49 national federations in total). The indignation of EWF members was caused by the conflict between Mr. Agapitov and Attila Adamfi. In particular, EWF members were outraged that the official website of the federation was used to publish a statement by Maxim Agapitov, directed against Mr. Adamfi.

Formally, the IWF managed to close the crisis page last summer, when elections for a new head of the federation took place. True, they turned out differently. Of the 12 candidates vying for the presidency, ten withdrew their candidacies even before the voting began, including Mr. Agapitov. Two remained in the race: Iraqi representative Mohammed Jaloud and Qatari Yousef al-Mana. The two were sitting next to each other. At some point, Mr. al-Mana said that Mohammed Jaloud also gave a sign indicating that he, too, was withdrawing from the elections. The latter had a different opinion. As a result, the election commission came to the conclusion that it could not reliably establish whether Mohammed Jalud gave any signs or not, which means that he can participate in the elections. After which Yousef al-Mana himself withdrew from the elections with the wording “so that you are pleased.” Thus, Mohammed Jalood was selected on an uncontested basis.

Alexander Petrov