JOIN USSports bosses take on Gill through IOC
As the beleaguered sports administrators approached the world body, IOC representative Pere Miro issued a strongly-worded statement stating that “any limits imposed by outside agencies on their tenure will amount to violation of the Olympic Charter, leading to sanctions from the international body.”
On Sunday, the sports ministry had issued a directive limiting the tenure of office-bearers of national sports federations in India to a maximum of 12 years, besides recommending a retirement age of 70 for officials. Even as sports administrators, who have been entrenched for decades, raised a hue and cry about the order, they approached the IOC for clarification.
Quickly reacting to their demand, Miro, in a letter to IOC member Randhir Singh said: “Any restriction on the tenure of the office-bearers and fixing age limit may amount to interference in the internal functioning of the National Olympic Committees. This is a violation of Olympic Charter and IOC Executive Board may hand sanctions, suspension or withdrawal of recognition of such NOCs.”
Totally rejecting Gill’s proposal, the statement said: “The number of terms of the office-bearers and a potential age limit for the members of the NOC or the National Sports Federations shall not be decided by law or external body’s decision but shall be decided by respective organisations on a case by case basis, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the respective international sports organisations to which they are affiliated.” It was read out by Randhir Singh, who is also IOA secretary-general, at a press conference in New Delhi.
The IOC letter stressed that the Olympic Charter “does not impose any limitations” on the members of an NOC with respect to the number of terms the NOC office-bearers may exercise or a potential age limit, which, if any, should be decided by each NOC and established in the NOC Statutes as the case may be.