The International Olympic Committee have initiated an inquiry into the International Boxing Association (AIBA) which could lead to the suspension of the organisation and participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The procedure comes after continual concerns regarding the governance, financial management, and sporting integrity of the organisation. The Executive Board of the IOC have acknowledged progress within areas such as refereeing an d judging demonstrated in the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires 2018, as well as anti-doping compliance.
However, concerns still remain for the IOC which has resulted in further investigation into the AIB following the November election of Gafur Rakhimov of Uzbekistan as president, despite the US Treasury Department putting him on a sanctions list for involvement in the international drug trade.
As a result the IOC has put a freeze on the planning of the Olympic boxing tournament at Tokyo 2020, including the qualification system, official contact between AIBA and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, ticket sales, test event planning and finalisation of the competition schedule.
The procedure will give the opportunity for AIBA to respond to any findings. Alternatively, an option for the IOC would be to organise an Olympic boxing tournament, outside of AIBA’s control. The IOC have stressed that it will make “all efforts to protect the athletes and ensure that a boxing tournament can take place at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 regardless of these measures”.
Read full IOC article here.
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