The Court Of Arbitration For Sport (CAS) Upholds The Appeals Filed By Boris Van Der Vorst, Michael Mcatee, Steven Hartley And Per-Axel Sjöholm

Lausanne, 14 June 2022 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the appeals filed by Boris van der Vorst, Michael McAtee, Steven Hartley and Per-Axel Sjöholm (the Appellants) against the decision rendered on 12 May 2022 by the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit’s Interim Nomination Unit (INU) (the Challenged Decision) in which they were deemed ineligible for candidacy for all bodies of the International Boxing Federation (IBA) during the IBA elections that took place on 14 May 2022. The Challenged Decision has been set aside.

Previously, on 28 April 2022, the INU Chair had referred the matter to the IBA Disciplinary Committee for determination on alleged violations of the election regulations by the four candidates. On 11 May 2022, the IBA Disciplinary Committee had found the four candidates not guilty. The next day, the challenged decision was issued by the INU.

The CAS Arbitrator in charge of the matter found that the Appellants had committed only a minor breach of the regulations governing the IBA elections (early campaigning) which would have deserved a light sanction such as a warning or even no sanction, but not an exclusion from the election; furthermore, the Sole Arbitrator noted that the incumbent President had committed the same minor violation and had not been sanctioned for it. The remaining violations that the Appellants were alleged to have committed in the Challenged Decision were not retained by the CAS Arbitrator. In light of the foregoing, and in application of the principle of equal treatment, the Sole Arbitrator decided to uphold the appeals and to set aside the Challenged Decision.