Strong IOC statement against the president of IBA for “hate speech and threatening language”

The Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a strong statement in which it condemned demonstrations made by the Russian Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), at the Continental Forum of the American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) that took place in Brasilia.

In the statement, the International Olympic Committee “condemns the violent and threatening language used by the president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), Umar Kremlev, against several people from the IOC.”

“Hate speech and derogatory language against people who work for the IOC, who are simply performing their professional functions, and against the IOC as an organization, is simply unacceptable. Accusing them that they are covering up crimes is highly defamatory,” the note states.

Finally, the publication highlights: “Asking that a person formerly linked to the IOC be shot is a language that has no place in sports or in any normal civilized debate.”

The Continental Forum of the American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) in which Kremlev was present came days after the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee recommended withdrawing recognition from the International Boxing Association after not having met the conditions established to lift the suspension that applied to it in 2019, due to financial irregularities and the investigation for manipulated fights at the Rio 2016 Games.

In this context, the IOC also took away from IBA the possibility of organizing the qualifying tournaments for the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, while boxing is not guaranteed its place in Los Angeles 2028.

After learning of this decision of the IOC to withdraw its recognition, IBA issued a strong statement in which it defined the situation as “an aberration and purely political, since all the efforts made by the IBA, with its democratically elected leaders, were largely ignored and not taken into consideration by the IOC”.

“The IBA, as the headquarters of boxing, reserves its right to take retaliatory measures, since the organization in its current state will never recognize the statement that it does not comply with the rules of good governance or that it does not deserve its place in the Olympic movement. In addition, the IBA categorically denies all accusations that it has jeopardized the reputation of the Olympic movement, but rather has respected the recommendations of the IOC and has followed them,” the International Association said in the note.

In the midst of this dispute between the International Olympic Committee and the International Boxing Association, World Boxing emerged, an organization that was created with the intention of keeping boxing within the Olympic program.

The United States and Switzerland have officially abandoned IBA to join World Boxing and due to their closeness to the new Federation, the International Association has suspended New Zealand, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands as members.