LONDON: Amateur boxing’s governing body (AIBA) president Gafur Rahimov announced his resignation on Friday, claiming that “politically based discussions” were harming the organisation’s progress as the sport battles to remain part of the Olympic programme. Rahimov was elected in November despite being on the USA Treasury Department’s sanctions list “for providing material support” to a criminal organisation, a claim the Uzbek strongly denies. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) expressed its concern over the choice of Rahimov at the time of his election due to him being on the sanctions list, deepening a quarrel with the organisation over its long running financial troubles. However, the IOC’s Executive Board said in November that planning for next year’s Olympic boxing tournament had been frozen and contact suspended between AIBA and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee. “While I had truly hoped and believed that sport and politics could be separated… the politically based discussions have put into question the progress being made throughout the AIBA organisation,” Rahimov said in a statement on AIBA’s website. Rahimov, 67, said he would be replaced by an interim president.
Published in Daily Times, March 23rd 2019.
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