DEAR ALL SORRY FOR THESE LONG STATEMENT, BUT IT IS THE FACTS AND THE TRUTH.
Bodies flex muscles in feud
07/23/2009 10:38 PM | By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
Allegations and counter-allegations have been flying around for the past few months. Osama Al Shafar, President of the Asian Bodybuilding Federation, charges that the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB), the world governing body for the sport, is not even recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
In defence, William Tierney, IFBB Assistant General Secretary, has sent in a letter clearly stating that the IFBB is the "sole international federation for the sport of bodybuilding and fitness".
But the issue is much larger than meets the eye. Based on documents and statements made available to us, we put forward both points of view..
"There is no international federation governing the Asian Bodybuilding Federation (ABBF) and as far as we know the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) is not even recognised or registered," Osama Al Shafar, ABBF President told Gulf News.
"To be recognised, you have to be registered. If the IFBB was registered, then everyone would have recognised them. Maybe, when they register themselves as a body, member countries will recognise them.
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognises the ABBF.
"The IFBB keeps sending threatening letters to Arab countries telling them that if they compete or attend meetings with the ABBF, they risk the chance of being suspended for life. How can they do this? They are not recognised themselves, and in addition, they have a big case pending against them and their authority to govern the sport," charged Al Shafar.
"The IFBB office in Madrid run by Rafael Santoja [IFBB president] looks more like a small grocery store."
Al Shafar further stated that the IFBB, established in 1946 and based in Canada under then president Ben Weider, was scheduled to be moved to Madrid and registered thereafter.
"Our lawyers have found out that the IFBB is not even a registered body and hence the question of them not recognising the ABBF does not arise," he noted.
Al Shafar was elected as ABBF president in October 2007 in Shanghai, China. Since then, bodybuilding has witnessed a sudden boost, thanks mainly to Al Shafar taking a keen interest in guiding the sport to new levels.
"The IFBB could not stomach our success at the Asian level so they tried to destabilise the ABBF by suspending us on grounds that do not even hold good.
"They are trying to find fault with us because of the case we've filed against them in London. They've gone crazy," Al Shafar fumed.
"They suspended us due to doping cases going back to 2005. How can the IFBB hold me responsible for things that happened even before I was elected. [Abdullah Khalaf] Al Ka'abi [of Qatar] was the ABBF president and they should hold him responsible," Al Shafar said.
Al Shafar, who is also president of the Emirates Bodybuilding Federation (EBBF) further stated that the IFBB is in the process of creating a parallel body at the Asian level during the course of the ongoing Asian Bodybuilding Championship currently being held in Aurangabad, India (July 23-29).
In its latest communication, the IFBB has upheld its decision to provisionally suspend, pending a hearing, all ABBF executive members.
In a letter addressed to all National Olympic Committees, William Tierney, IFBB Assistant General Secretary, has held that Paul Chua (Singapore), Simo Chan (Hong Kong), Mohammad Abdul Rahim Abdullah (Bahrain), Hussain Ahmad Ali Al Saffar (UAE) and Amir Bayat (Iran) have all been suspended.
The IFBB letter clarifies that "the suspension does not affect the IFBB recognition of Asian national federations which are constitutionally members of the IFBB".
The IFBB letter further states that they are "currently investigating a massive doping positive result in the UAE where 12 bodybuilders tested positive in out-of-competition controls conducted by the UAENOC [UAE National Olympic Committee] in June 2009".
The world governing body for the sport has charged some individuals led by Chua of conducting a slanderous and libellous campaign of misinformation against the IFBB.
"Mr Chua and his associates, al under provisional suspension, believe they can violate IFBB, WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] and OCA [Olympic Council of Asia] rules, ignore suspension orders and continue to operate by organising international competitions; all the while believing themselves above these same rules and code," the IFBB letter states.
Tierney has advised all Asian countries to stay away from the competition being organised by the ABBF in Bangkok from August 11-17. This competition, the letter states, "is not approved, sanctioned or recognised".
