Sheikh Ahmad: It Will Be Settled

(ATR) Was it a tremor that shook the ANOC Assembly headquarters hotel for a solid minute Tuesday morning in Tokyo?

Or was it simply Sheikh Ahmad, the soon to-be-suspended president of the NOC body, leaving the premises of the Grand Prince New Takanawa Hotel?

It turns out that it was a natural phenomenon. Sheikh Ahmad was still very much a presence as the second day of commission meetings for the Association of National Olympic Committees got underway.

Stopping briefly to talk to Around the Rings, Sheikh Ahmad sounded confident that he would be able to restore his status as an IOC member and leader of the 206 member ANOC.

"It will all be okay. It will all be settled. It will all be explained," the Sheikh said.

He said it was certain that he will appear before the IOC Ethics Commission in January to offer an explanation for the situation he faces in Switzerland could land him a multi-year prison term.

One week ago, Sheikh Ahmad resigned temporarily from the IOC seat he has held since 1992, along with his chairmanship of the Olympic Solidarity Commission. The commission oversees the distribution of a half billion dollars of IOC revenue to the world’s national Olympic committees.

Yesterday in Tokyo, Ahmad announced he also will vacate the presidency of ANOC on a temporary basis, effective Nov.28.

His return of IOC status and leadership posts will depend on what Ahmad can tell the ethics hearing in January but even more importantly the outcome of the criminal proceedings in Geneva in four months.

Along with four other defendants, Ahmad is facing forgery charges that will go to trial in March 2019. The group is accused of concocting evidence that was used in Ahmad’s defense in another legal dispute.

"This was nothing to do with sport," said Ahmad before heading off.

The IOC Executive Board, meeting by teleconference Monday afternoon in Tokyo, affirmed a Nov. 22 report from the IOC Ethics Commission calling for Ahmad to step down from his Olympic associations.

The two page letter from the commission wasted no words describing the reputational risk the panel believes the Sheikh represents, even if the behavior not connected to sport. Ahmad blames the legal troubles on political rivalriesin Kuwait.

"The IOC Code of Ethics requires the IOC Members to refrain from any act likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement; this applies at any time and in any circumstances, including outsidethe framework of the sport movement and for facts not related to sport," says the report signed by independent commission member Samuel Schmid.

The retired jurist from Switzerland led the Ethics Commission for this case after chairman Ban Ki Moon recused himself to avoid any perceptions of conflict of interest.

"The IOC Ethics Commission finds that the facts involved, punishable by 2 to 5 years in prison, are very serious. The IOC Ethics Commission notes that the fact that he is considered by a judicial authority as having violated a criminal law constitutes a very serious damage to the Olympic Movement and the IOC’s reputation.

"This damage is proportionate to the importance of his various responsibilities in the Olympic Movement: the higher the responsibilities the higher the impact on the reputation," Schmid concludes.

The ANOC Executive Council meets Tuesday to review the next steps needed to make the transition to temporary leadership changes that could be permanent if the Sheikh is found guilty in Switzerland.

To make the fall from grace complete, Ahmad is expected to also temporarily surrender the presidency of the Olympic Council of Asia. He’s held the OCA job since 1992, taking over from his father who was killed in the 1991 Iraq invasion of Kuwait. The OCA title, along with his IOC membership, form the base of the Sheik’s influence in the Olympic Movement.

Ahmad will leave Tokyo Wednesday morning after the parliamentary moves are made to transfer the presidency to senior vice president Julio Maglione, serving in his final days before stepping down.

After the assembly, Robin Mitchell will take over as interim president as he will become the most senior ANOC vice president. The physician from Fiji has had a low key career as an IOC member since 1994, but has now risen to the top ranks.

For now elections for ANOC president are on hold, but the five continental vice presidents will be chosen Wednesday,

The outgoing ANOC president is expected to make some welcoming remarks Tuesday night at an opening reception for the assembly. On Wednesday morning, the first day of the meeting, Ahmad could deliver a farewell before he takes his temporary leave of ANOC duties.

Expect a warm ovation from a room filled with admirers, ready to elect him unopposed to a third term if the vote had not been canceled. Now many of them hope this is not the last time they will see Sheikh Ahmad on the podium.

Written and reported in Tokyo by Ed Hula

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