AIBA: Caribbean Federations "Not Guilty"

(ATR) The AIBA Disciplinary Commission declared the 10 National Federations of the Caribbean "not guilty" of alleged violations of ethical standards.

The case had been opened following a complaint from the Boxing Confederation of the Americas (AMBC) regarding the payment of the annual membership fees of AIBA and AMBC around October 12 by the national federation of the Dominican Republic on behalf of nine other Caribbean federations.

The federations in question were Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Saint Maarten, Suriname, and the US Virgin Islands.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Disciplinary Commission does not specify whether, after lifting the temporary suspension imposed on December 4, the federations will be able to participate in the virtual elections of the AIBA Congress this Saturday and in the discussions of the reforms the following day.

"Obviously, we must participate," one of the Caribbean federations told Around the Rings.

The Disciplinary Commission said that after due consideration of all the oral and documentary evidence, it decided that the national federations are not guilty of any of the charges. The panel will provide the reasons for this final decision at a later date..

The federations were charged with various disciplinary offenses that ranged from alleged corruption to violation of statutes and rules. Last week the Anguilla national federation was found not guilty while provisional suspension was imposed on the rest. On December 8, those involved were questioned in a virtual hearing, as ATR reported at the time.

The disciplinary panel consisted of President Francois Strydom (South Africa) and members Glenn Feldman (USA) and Alexandra Monkhouse (Canada).

On the eve of this decision, the Dominican candidate for the presidency of AIBA, Bienvenido Solano, announced his resignation.

A source from the AMBC assured ATR that the president of that organization, the Argentine Osvaldo Bisbal, is "satisfied and happy" with the decision.

In a letter to the Disciplinary Commission on November 17, Bisbal said that the mistake of the president of the Dominican Federation should not be cause to punish the other nine Caribbean federations.

Bisbal had received strong criticism for his complaint that some considered was directed against Solano's campaign, allegations that the Argentine denied

The IOC will be very attentive to what happens this weekend at the AIBA Congress, which has the approval of the new constitution and the election of the president as the two main points on the agenda for the virtual meeting.

The IOC has stated that its recommendation to prioritize reforms and their implementation "has not been respected to date" by AIBA. The IOC will consider AIBA's position only after seeing that the reforms are being adopted and implemented.

The IOC also warned that it will take into account "the concerns" that have been raised "against some of the candidates for the AIBA presidency and their possible impact on recognition."

Written and reported by Miguel Hernandez

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