The amateur boxing governing body (IBA) accused the International Olympic Committee of perversion on Thursday, in a harsh response to its ongoing suspension over management and financial issues.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) wondered how it would “quench the IOC’s continuing thirst to prosecute our organization and its athletes” and said “significant progress” had not been recognised.
He added that he was cleaning up a “stained legacy” left by a former president who was once a top figure at the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“We continue to be punished by a culture of corruption created and nurtured by a few people at the top of the IOC,” the IBA said in a statement.
“This culture of corruption has been built up over time and fixing it will take time, going on for more than two years.”
The IBA did not participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and boxing was not on the initial program for the Los Angeles 2028 Games, pending reforms demanded by the IOC.
The IBA, formerly AIBA, was chaired by Taiwanese Ching-kuo Wu from 2006 to 2017. He is also a member of the IOC’s executive board and ran for the IOC presidency in 2013 against incumbent Thomas Bach. Banned for life by the IBA in 2018, Wu has denied any wrongdoing.
The IBA is now headed by Russian Umar Kremlev, with the support of Russian energy company Gazprom, something the IOC described as “very worrying”.
On Tuesday, the IOC sent the IBA another letter informing it that it could not lift the suspension because the necessary “drastic culture change” had not been implemented.
In response, the IBA says it has no choice but to find sponsors because the IOC has blocked the money generated by the sport and its athletes at the Olympic Games. “The IOC creates a problem for every solution we provide. All the criticism of the IOC is done to discredit the leading experts who worked on previous reports and investigations within the Olympic movement, which is unfortunate.”
The IBA said it remains open to dialogue and will “continue to do everything possible to ensure our athletes have a home in our boxing family and in the Olympic Games.”
Source: La Verdad
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