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≡ ISRAEL OUT, FIG DOES NOTHING ≡
The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), the governing body of worldwide gymnastics, posted a pathetically weak comment after the Court of Arbitration for Sport refused any action on the Israel Gymnastics Federation appeal of FIG’s acquiescence of the Indonesian government’s refusal to issue entry visas to Israeli athletes for the FIG World Artistic Championships that start Sunday:
“The FIG has consistently emphasised that it has no authority over the issuance of entry visas in Indonesia. The decision of the Indonesian national authorities to deny visas to Israeli individuals lies entirely outside the FIG’s competence and control.
“The FIG takes this opportunity to underline that, as an international sports federation governing the sport of gymnastics worldwide, it is politically neutral and acts strictly within the framework of its Statutes and Regulations, as well as in accordance with the principles of neutrality and non-discrimination that underpin the Olympic Movement.
“The FIG deeply regrets this unfortunate situation and the impact it has on the affected athletes. It reaffirms its unwavering commitment to ensuring that all FIG competitions remain open to all eligible gymnasts in accordance with its rules and regulations, irrespective of their nationality or personal attributes.”
What a joke, especially the last paragraph and its “unwavering commitment to ensuring that all FIG competitions remain open to all eligible gymnasts …”
It is worth comparing the current situation, in which the government of Indonesia enforced its anti-Israel policy by not allowing the six-member Israeli team – plus three coaches – to compete in Jakarta, after the athletes had been duly registered for the championships, with the high-profile conflicts of the last three years:
● Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and on 28 February 2022, the International Olympic Committee Executive Board recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes not be allowed to participate in international competitions:
“The IOC EB took protective measures immediately at the time, with a heavy heart and expressing the dilemma it faced. It was against the mission of the Olympic Games that the IOC had to recommend not to invite athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport because of government interference as governments were starting to decide who can take part in which competition.
“Some of the governments threatened to withdraw funding if athletes would participate in a certain competition. And this the IOC could not allow, because this is against every principle of the international sports system, which must be based on sport and not on political decisions about who can participate.”
● Hamas, the governing body of Gaza, invaded Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,195 and taking 251 hostages, with those living finally released back to Israel this week and Hamas saying that some of the deceased hostage bodies cannot be found.
Since then, the IOC has taken no action and the Israel Olympic Committee has not asked for the quarantining of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, recognized by the IOC in 1995. The FIG took no action against the Palestinian Gymnastics Federation.
But now Israel – the victim of the 7 October attack – is targeted again by Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country which has – with occasional exceptions – refused to allow Israel to compete on its soil, excluding the country from the Asian Games held in Jakarta in 1962. And twice in 2023, canceling the ANOC World Beach Games with 32 days to go and FIFA removing the men’s U-20 World Cup, in which Israel later won a bronze medal in the re-located tournament in Argentina.
Article 2.2 of the FIG Statutes states, obviously only for show:
“The FIG does not advocate, support or practice any form of discrimination on any grounds such as race, skin colour, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability, physical attributes, athletic ability or any other reason; the Federation does not permit any violation of human rights amongst its members. FIG respects and follows the UN universal declaration of human rights and the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in all its affairs.”
As noted in my comment of 12 October, FIG – even at this late date – has options:
● “FIG could turn the Indonesian ban around, and since they will not allow Israel to compete, then Indonesian athletes will not be allowed to compete in Jakarta. …
● “FIG can suspend the Indonesian federation for its violation of FIG’s own rules as well as the Olympic Charter; a four-year ban would keep Indonesian gymnasts out of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
● “FIG has awarded the 2026 Artistic Worlds to Rotterdam (NED) and 2027 to Chengdu in China. Why not award the 2029 Artistic Worlds right now to Israel – probably Tel Aviv – with Indonesia to pay all costs for the event. If it can’t stomach paying the Israel Gymnastics Federation directly, it can pay FIG and FIG will forward the money to the Israelis.”
FIG has indicated that it will do nothing.
(By the way, just as with athlete prize money. Despite being a tier-one recipient of IOC television rights funds at $39 million-plus from Paris 2024, FIG pays no prize money at its World Championships. Astonishing but true.)
Will anything be done to it? Or to IOC members Morinari Watanabe (JPN), the FIG President, or Erick Thohir, the Indonesia Youth and Sports Minister, who supported – of course – his government’s Israel ban, in contravention of the FIG rules and the Olympic Charter.
As is the usual case in international sport, the ball is in the court of the International Olympic Committee and new President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM).
The IOC told the Russian news agency TASS it was gathering information about what happened. Its Executive Board does not meet until December; it met in emergency session after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But Coventry and her IOC are now on the clock to act on a blatant violation of the “athletes are not responsible for their government’s actions” mantra insisted on by immediate past president Thomas Bach (GER).
If the IOC does not act – against FIG, against Indonesia and against Watanabe and Thohir – it opens wide the door that Bach fought hard to keep closed: that host countries of any event will – close to the start – simply refuse entry to athletes of countries they don’t like.
Don’t be stupid enough to think this has not been noticed in Washington, D.C.
Bach said, prophetically, at the 2023 International Federation Forum in Lausanne:
“The autonomy of sport – your autonomy as an International Sports Federation – is under threat. The actions of these divisive political forces would effectively mean that they take over your role as International Federations.
“Some want to decide which athletes can compete in which competitions. Others want to decide where your competitions can take place. Still others want to organise their own political sports events. Especially the latter would mean a government takeover of international sport.
“If they succeed with this, your role and the role of the Olympic Movement would become obsolete.”
Watanabe, Thohir, Coventry and all others were warned. What now?
Rich Perelman
Editor
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