Governing Bodies
IOC VICE PRESIDENT RULES OUT OLYMPIC BAN ON IRAN FOLLOWING WRESTLER’S EXECUTION
The vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suggested Iran are unlikely to be banned despite growing calls for their expulsion following the execution of wrestling champion Navid Afkari.
John Coates, who is also the President of the Australian Olympic Committee, revealed he had spoken to IOC President Thomas Bach about the 27-year-old’s death yesterday, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
According to Iranian state media, Afkari was executed on Saturday (September 12) after being given two death sentences for allegedly stabbing a security guard to death and his involvement in demonstrations against the country’s regime in 2018.
His execution led Global Athlete to call on the IOC and United World Wrestling to “immediately implement sanctions that expel Iran from world sport for this heinous execution”.
Last week, Brendan Schwab, executive director of the World Players Association, added that Afkari’s execution “must result in Iran forfeiting its right to be a part of sport’s universal community”.
It is understood Bach will address the possibility of sanctions against Iran at next month’s IOC Executive Board meeting but Coates, the Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission head, said “the difficulty for us is this execution didn’t relate to a sporting event”.
“We talked about it last night in my regular meeting with the President,” said Coates, who was speaking at the relighting of the Olympic cauldron in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Opening Ceremony of Sydney 2000.
“The week previously he’d written to the supreme ruler, the President.
“We’d been part of other attempts.
“The difficulty for us is this execution didn’t relate to a sporting event.
“He was certainly a great athlete.
“And the other difficulty is of course that there is probably 50 of the National Olympic Committees that come from territories that still have capital punishment.
“We’ve been getting two sides to the story as to whether he got a fair go or didn’t get a fair go.”
Afkari claimed he was tortured into making a false confession while human rights groups and activists believe he was unjustly targeted by the Iranian authorities to intimidate others who might choose to participate in peaceful protests.
Coates added: “We’ve had difficulties with the Iranians before in them not participating or pulling out of competition.
“They didn’t participate against Israel and we’ve suspended them in respect of those sporting violations before.
“But this is a different situation.
“This is someone who has been charged with murder.
“There are different versions of what happened and different versions of whether he got a fair trial.”
A video has emerged on social media of what is claimed to be Afkari’s last conversation from jail.
In the video Afkari claimed he had been injured in 10 to 15 places and was hopeful he would not be executed as he understood he would be transferred to Tehran.
Afkari’s case has attracted global attention with United States President Donald Trump appealing for clemency.
Joe Biden, Trump’s Presidential rival for the upcoming elections, also joined the widespread outcry on Twitter, describing Afkari’s “cruel execution” as a “travesty”.
“No country should arrest, torture, or execute peaceful protesters or activists,” Biden’s tweet added.
“Iran must free its other political prisoners, including Nasrin Sotoudeh, and release unjustly detained Americans.”
A tweet from the official office of the Prime Minister of Israel read: “I send my deepest condolences to the family of wrestling champion #NavidAfkari.
“The monstrous Iranian regime that executed him committed terrible crimes against the Iranian people and the peoples of the region.
“The Iranian people deserve better.
“The Iranian people will do better.”
Insidethegames
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria is set to host the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), marking the third time the country will stage the continent’s top football gathering.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, approved Nigeria’s proposal to host the event.
The approval followed a meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe, attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
Sports Villages Square affirms that Nigeria previously hosted the CAF Congress at the National Theatre in Lagos in March 1980 and again in February 2009, when the late CAF President Issa Hayatou secured another four-year term in office.
In addition to this year’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly, scheduled for October, Nigeria also secured the hosting rights of the CAF Awards ceremony. The annual awards gala, which celebrates Africa’s top football performers, has been staged in Morocco over the past three years.
Nigeria had earlier hosted the CAF Awards when telecom firm, Globacom, was the headline sponsor. This year’s event will be the seventh to be held in Nigeria after those of 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally attracts key football stakeholders from across the continent, including presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions and senior football administrators.
The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as one of African football’s flagship events, honouring outstanding players, coaches, clubs and officials in a glamorous setting that showcases the continent’s football excellence.
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FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee has banned former Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves from all football-related activities for five years after finding he sexually harassed female staff members.
FIFA also fined Alves 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,000) after determining that he had breached provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics relating to the protection of physical and mental integrity, abuse of position and general duties.
“FIFA has a strict stance against all forms of abuse in football,” the organisation said on Monday.
The decision followed a review of written statements from the victims, documents provided by the GFF, submissions from Alves, and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
Alves stepped down from his position in 2024.
The ban came into force on Monday, when the terms of the decision were notified to Alves, and the full grounds for the ruling will be communicated within 60 days in accordance with the Code of Ethics, FIFA added.
The GFF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alves could not immediately be reached for comment.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that he planned to seek re-election for a fourth term in a bid to continue to lead the governing body of world soccer.
Infantino confirmed he would run for the 2027–2031 term in the closing moments of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which comes less than two months before the start of the World Cup.
The election will be held on March 18 in Morocco, which is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup.
Infantino said he was “honoured and humbled” to have the chance to run for a fourth term.
The Italian-Swiss took office in 2016, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.
Infantino has pushed for the expansion of FIFA competitions during his tenure, with this year’s World Cup in North America the first to feature 48 teams, while the women’s tournament in 2023 has been expanded to 32 teams.
Infantino’s tenure has also drawn some criticism over issues such as high World Cup ticket prices and the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.
Earlier this month, the council of South American football’s governing body (CONMEBOL) said in a statement it would unanimously support the 56-year-old if he decided to seek another term.
-Reuters
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