MOSCOW, Oct 27 Decisions of the International Boxing Association (IBA), whose head is the Russian Umar Kremlev, should not be associated with the nationality of its leader, said the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach. At the end of February, the IOC recommended that sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. Most federations have followed this recommendation. On October 5, the IBA announced the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to the competition. They will be able to compete in international tournaments under the flags of their countries, and if they win, national anthems will be played. «Boxing has nothing to do with nationality. What happens in the IBA should not be related to the nationality of the head of this association. There were problems even earlier. We are talking about such things as corruption, good governance requirements, financial issues, dependence on one Russian sponsor,» Marca quotes Bach. The boxing tournament at the Olympics was saved, but at the Tokyo Games it was held by a special commission of the IOC. In June, the IOC announced that the boxing tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics would not be held under the auspices of the IBA, despite qualifying conditions yet to be determined.
