Sports court rejects IBA appeal, IOC condemns leadership language

LAUSANNE, Switzerland : The International Boxing Association (IBA) has failed to reverse the stripping of its recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Tuesday rejecting its urgent appeal.

The CAS decision comes after the IOC decided two weeks ago to strip the IBA of its recognition as the official international body for the sport over its failure to meet reform criteria.

On Tuesday the IOC Executive Board also objected to comments made by the IBA leadership at a regional meeting in Brazil.

"The President of the Appeals Arbitration Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has today dismissed the IBA’s urgent request," CAS said.

The IOC had suspended the IBA in 2019 over governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues and did not involve it in running the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

On Tuesday the IOC Executive Board said it objected to language used by IBA President Umar Kremlev at an American Boxing Confederation meeting in Brasilia.

"The Executive Board of the IOC condemns the violent and threatening language used by the President of the IBA, Umar Kremlev, against a number of individuals from the IOC," it said in a statement.

"These statements were made during the American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Continental Forum in Brasilia."

Reuters has contacted the IBA for a comment.

The IBA has said the decision to exclude it from the Olympic body was "truly abhorrent and purely political".

It said its efforts on reforms had been largely ignored and not taken into consideration by the IOC.