Boxing has lurched further away from the hope of an Olympic presence after Paris with the decision taken not only to suspend the Ukrainian Boxing Federation for ‘government interference’, but now to announce that Russian and Belarus Boxers and Officials will be welcomed back and their flags and emblems allowed to be displayed at International Boxing Association events.
This is beyond belief given the heightened global tension in the Ukraine war, the raised level of nuclear threat and the humanitarian impact of Russia’s invasion.
The IBA is the only International Federation associated to the Olympic movement that will now allow Russian and Belarus participation.
“The IBA strongly believes that politics shouldn’t have any influence on sports,” began the IBA statement announcing the move.
As we have argued previously sport is now such an important part of the global world order that such a statement no longer has any basis in fact. Economic sanctions that exclude sport might as well exclude financial transactions and trade.
The statement goes on that “Hence, all athletes should be given equal conditions.”
“Respecting its own autonomy as the International sports Federation, the IBA shall remain politically neutral and independent.”
“IBA calls for peace and remains a peacemaker in any conflicts.”
“Moreover, the IBA has obligation to ensure equal treatment towards the athletes and competition officials, regardless of their nationality and residence.”
We reported earlier in the week that Ireland was among the first international members of the IBA to stand up and demand change. Now the actions needed are potentially deeper and more profound.
Boxing has always has a propensity to split, witness the multiple different belts that are on the line in a World Championship bout.
Now to have any hope of a credible future, a new organisation must be formed or at least initially threatened and planned for should reform not come.
Every other organisation has cut ties to Gazprom, costing hundreds of millions in sponsorship revenue. the IBA is funded almost exclusively through it. President Umar Kremlev was pictured with Vladimir Putin only last month.
If it had not already gone beyond the point of redemption, this latest move surely nudges it over the line.
It is hard to believe that athletes themselves would want to be associated with a sport so badly out of step with international thinking and the only way for that not to cost them their chance to compete internationally is for the creation of a new body with proper governance and a better sense of the world’s abhorrence of the actions of their paymaster.
