(ATR) The IOC says it will not accredit interim AIBA President Gafur Rahimov or family members for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
The IOC announced the move in an extraordinary letter to the 150+ national federations of AIBA, the international federation for Olympic boxing. The credentials blacklist also includes other members of the AIBA leadership as well.
The Oct. 3 letter seen by Around the Rings is under the signature of IOC Director General Christophe de Kepper. The letter is accompanied by an IOC Executive Board statement issued yesterday, a new warning to AIBA to address IOC concerns about governance and operations.
"We believe it is important to communicate this directly to all AIBA National Federations in order for you to have a clear understanding of the serious ongoing concerns of the IOC Executive Board and avoid any misunderstandings regarding these concerns," writes de Kepper.
He notes that as part of the freeze in communications in effect between the IOC and AIBA, no credentials will be issued to Rahimov or family members. While boxing will be part of the YOG which open Oct. 6, the IOC has decreed that independent oversight is needed for referees and judges.
The letter from de Kepper and the IOC EB statement came just hours after the federation announced Rakhimov as the only candidate nominated for president. The election will take place at the AIBA Congress in Moscow Nov. 2-3.
Rahimov, 67 and a native of Uzbekistan,has served as interim president since January after years as a vice president. But despite his devotion to boxing, Rahimov is also a notorious figure, placed on a U.S. Treasury Department list for reputed connections to Russian transnational criminal organizations.
The IOC Ethics and Compliance officer wrote to the federation in May advising that Rahimov was unsuited to serve as AIBA president as a result.
The U.S. designation prohibits his travel to the U.S. and many other nations, such as Switzerland, where AIBA is headquartered.
Around the Rings understands that Rahimov’s legal situation in the U.S. is also leading to complications for the federation with banking and other operational needs.
Rahimov has not been charged with any crimes and has retained a lawyer in the U.S. to try to remove his name from the list.
De Kepper refers to the U.S. situation in his letter to the boxing federations.
The letter to the federations says that the IOC is awaiting final reports from AIBA due Nov. 12 before taking additional action.
The Oct. 3 IOC statement warns that boxing could be stripped from the Tokyo Olympics. Withdrawal of IOC recognition of the federation is also possible. With the certain election of Rahimov less than a month away, the IOC and AIBA are on a collision course neither seems willing to avoid.
More to come later Thursday from Buenos Aires where IOC President Thomas Bach will hold a press conference concluding the two day EB meeting.
Written and reported in Buenos Aires by Ed Hula.
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