Handball Federation Congress Under Dispute from Americas

(ATR) Members of the Pan American Team Handball Federation are fighting a vote taken at the 2017 International Handball Federation Congress in Antalya, Turkey, Around the Rings has learned.

At the congress, IHF President Hassan Moustafa called for a vote from the congress on a proposed statute that would divide the PATHF into two organizations. The vote was conducted with 102 in favor, 26 against, and 40 abstentions. The congress said the vote meant the matter was passed to the IHF Council to deliberate.

PATHF President Mario Moccia wrote a letter on Dec. 7 to the IHF Arbitration Commission asking for resolution on the matter. The letter, which was seen by ATR, details a number of issues PATHF has with the vote, and its legitimacy.

Moccia said he would not comment on the ongoing issue, and the IHF was not immediately available for comment on the matter.

The idea to split PATHF began with a motion of the IHF President in an agenda passed to IHF Council members ahead of a meeting last August in Tbilisi, Georgia. Moccia wrote that PATHF was never consulted on the motion, and did not hear of such a plan until the meeting. There, PATHF members of the council urged Moustafa to not call for a vote at the upcoming congress unless PATHF debated the issue.

PATHF called for an Extraordinary Assembly on Oct. 7 in Bogota, Colombia. There, minutes from the meeting reviewed by ATR, show 24 of the 25 members voted against the proposed division, with one vote abstaining.

"America showed, once again, it was united," Moccia wrote in his letter.

Despite this, the motion was brought to the IHF Congress. Moccia says that members of PATHF attempted to speak on the motion, but a malfunction of the microphone system prevented them from doing so. A public vote was eventually taken, much to the consternation of PATHF members.

"Moreover, the voting of the Motion should have been secret, as the motion involved a modification to IHF Statutes that had an effect on the elections (pursuant to IHF Statutes, Article 12.5)," Moccia writes. "And even if the Motion could, wrongly, be considered as open ballot, a request for secret vote was not made available to the Members present since, as was explained, the microphones were not enabled. Instead, the vote was made through open ballot; pictures were specifically taken to those that voted "No" on the Motion!

"All of this goes against the very democratic principles set forth in the IHF Statutes and amounts to the annulment of the Motion and its intended consequences."

Further, Moccia says that the 102 votes for the proposal were not enough for it to pass. IHF statutes changes require a two-thirds majority to pass, but 102 of 168 votes means just over 60 percent voted in favor of the change.

PATHF is contesting the vote in the arbitration commission because now the federation is waiting upon the IHF Council to make a decision "that is not theirs to make". Without a resolution, the Americas are currently not represented on the IHF Council as a continental vice-president and member were not chosen.

Moccia had been elected continental vice-president and Rafael Sepúlveda Montalvo elected continental representative beforehand. Moccia said that neither he nor Montalvo were alerted to future IHF Council meetings, and are not listed on the IHF Council website.

Two European Handball Federations, Switzerland and Russia, have written in support of PATHF according to Moccia’s letter. ATR has seen the letter written by Swiss officials in support of PATHF’s challenge.

Urlich Rubeli, president of the Swiss Handball Federation, said the Antalya congress was "a special experience and in contradiction of the IHF-Statues and Swiss Law". Rubeli said the SHF could bring the matter to a Swiss court, if member federations were in favor of such actions.

"There have been a lot of other mistakes and incorrect procedures during the Congress led by our president, and please believe me: I tried several times to get the floor, but it was not possible," Rubeli wrote. "We will not provoke a legal dispute for our pleasure. But we have a real problem, because all current decisions of the Council are contestable, as far as Panamerica is not represented in this body.

"There is a legal aspect, but also - and more important - a political aspect."

PATHF has called for the Arbitration Commission to declare null and void the decision taken by the IHF Congress to refer to the IHF Council to make a decision to split the federation. It also calls for the reinstatement of Moccia and Montalvo as IHF Council members. In addition it asks for a "formal and public rectification" from IHF President Moustafa.

ATR understands that if the commission rules against PATHF, the case could go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Written by Aaron Bauer

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.