EDUARD KHUSAINOV: "WE WILL STAND UP FOR AZERBAIJAN"

Recent events in world boxing cannot be called run-of-the-mill or a scrap inside any structure.  The conflict between the leadership of the International Amateur Boxing Federation (AIBA) and the opposition as represented by the majority of European boxing federations, including of Azerbaijan, and many other countries beyond the frontiers of the old world has come to a head and consequently the parties will sort things out in an international court of arbitrage. 

Let us briefly recall what the conflict is about. After the change of AIBA leadership, when its long-serving president, Anvar Choudri, was replaced by Ching-Kuo Wu following elections in the Dominican Republic in which there were violations, the new leadership began to violate systematically the rules of the International Federation. Appointing non-members of the AIBA's Executive Committee to head various AIBA commissions was the first serious violation although in fact there should be no appointing as these posts are by election. This was followed by a row at the AIBA Executive Committee in Taipei - Eduard Khusainov, the president of the Boxing Federation of Russia and the head of the European Boxing Association, was accused of being affiliated to a terrorist group and he was suspended from sitting on the Executive Committee. The AIBA confused the president of the Boxing Association of Russia with someone who had exactly the same name - Eduard Khusainov - but that was as far as the similarity went.  

The AIBA's decision to strip Moscow of the right to hold the licensed world championship and to transfer it to the Korean town of Jeju on the grounds that the Russian party allegedly had failed to meet additional demands by the AIBA leadership was the culmination. "Such actions by the AIBA have compelled us to appeal to the International Court of Arbitrage in Lausanne and our lawyers assure us that we will win this action. I've never taken anyone to court before but there is simply no other way out," Eduard Khusainov, the president of the Boxing Federation of Russia, told R+ in an exclusive interview while attending a sitting of the European Boxing Association's Executive Committee. "At the Executive Committee of the European Association we drew up an appeal to the International Federation of the International Olympic Committee which was not unanimous, it's true. The Romanian, Obreja, did not sign the appeal. He is a friend of the Turk, Doganelli, who supports Ching-Kuo Wu. The appeal contains information about illegal actions by the AIBA leadership and not just with regard to the world championship. We have ever mounting suspicions and are becoming certain that the AIBA's actions are a deliberate measure against those who think differently, against those who voted in the elections in the Dominican Republic against the incumbent leadership," he said.

"The decision to hold the world championship in Moscow was taken back in 2003 and was confirmed three times at executive committees. Despite this, the new AIBA leadership again tried to hold an election on where the world championship should be held and it removed me from the voting, having declared me a terrorist," Eduard Khusainov continued. But even though I did not attend the voting, during the Executive Committee meeting our capital was once again chosen as the venue for the world championship, winning by 22:9 against the Korean town of Jeju. What is most interesting is that Korea was never presented as an alternative to Moscow at previous sittings of the Executive Committee. The whole fact of the matter is that Wu's deputy is a representative of Korea and that is why this country appeared as a candidate in the voting.  Our correspondence with the new leadership of the AIBA was also very interesting. They wrote to us in January saying we should prepare a presentation for the Moscow world championship, which we did. But we got a letter literally a few days later telling us that a presentation wasn't necessary as all the documentation confirming our right to hold the world championship had been lost. Moreover, they complained that we hadn't transferred 1.5 million dollars to the AIBA account in time but no bank will transfer money without a relevant contract and no contract was sent to us. We were asked to transfer such an amount without any grounds but the most interesting thing is that it was not the AIBA account that was shown but another. We confirmed our intention to allocate the money on several occasions but on the basis of a contract and we were ready to meet all its conditions." 

It should also be noted that if the world championship is held in Korea its participants will have transport problems as they intend to hold it on an island which requires three changes of transport to reach. Furthermore, this Korean island will simply be unable to receive so many participants of the licensed championship at the same time - the most conservative estimates put them at around 500. 

"Moscow is able to receive any number of participants. We have reserved a 15,000-seat hall while the Korean town can only take 2,000 people," Eduard Khusainov noted.  "Incidentally, the last two world championships were held in Asia and now they want to hold another on the Asian continent. Apart from this, the president, the first vice-president and the director of the AIBA are representatives of Asia - isn't there boxing on any other continent? Where is Cuba, Russia, Thailand, Egypt, Azerbaijan?" 

Returning to the action in the International Court of Arbitrage, let us note that the date for hearing the Russian complaint is not yet known. "But we simply have no other way out. The AIBA's illegal actions are so blatant that the whole of Europe (with the exception of Romania - author's note) has signed the appeal to the head of the AIBA to return the world championship to Moscow and to lift all the accusations against me urgently," Eduard Khusainov said. "To be honest, I am in a state of shock over the actions by the new leadership. Under Anvar Choudri there were a few violations, which I tried to fight, but as for what is happening now… I didn't think that such a thing could happen in an international organization. We are supported not only by the countries of the former USSR and Eastern Europe but also the whole of Western Europe."

However, the head of the European Boxing Association did not rule out that if the International Court of Arbitrage fails to uphold Russia's complaint, it is likely that punitive measures may ensue from the AIBA leadership which may include clamping down on boxers from these countries at the licensed world championship.  If it is hard to do this to Russian boxers as Russia carries very great weight in world boxing, then countries which do not carry such weight, including Azerbaijan, which also is speaking out against the incumbent leadership, may become the AIBA's victims. "A lawyer said to me: 'You are wrong to think your opponents will change their behaviour. They will continue to break the rules, to behave badly for as long as they can.' The representatives of many countries think 'but what if things get worse for us' and they cave in to the AIBA. It is a blessing that Europe is standing firm. But punitive actions may ensue from the AIBA and one must be ready for that. Despite everything, we will do our utmost to stand up for those who are supporting us now, including Azerbaijan, which is a fervent advocate of justice prevailing in world boxing first and foremost."