Brazilian Olympic Committee Provisionally Suspended; Carlos Nuzman Sanctioned

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Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia

In response to Thursday’s arrest of former Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) President Carlos Nuzman and the allegations of vote-buying in the awarding of the 2016 Olympic Games to Rio, the International Olympic Committee has suspended the COB and cut ties with Nuzman.

The IOC released a statement Friday morning explaining that Nuzman was being stripped of all his privileges as an IOC Honorary Member and was being removed from the Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission.

Further, the COB was stripped of its rights and privileges within the Olympic movement, but with a caveat. The IOC declared that “to protect the interests of the Brazilian athletes, this decision shall not affect the Brazilian athletes.”

Hence, Brazil will still field a team for the 2018 Winter Olympics, just five months away in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Brazil is much stronger in the sports contested in the Summer Olympics than in the Winter Games, but with the next Summer Olympics in Tokyo still three years away, the situation with the COB should have moved towards a resolution by that point.

Read the full release from the IOC by clicking here or below:

THE IOC EXECUTIVE BOARD (EB) HAS TAKEN NOTE AND DISCUSSED THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST AND THE ARREST OF MR CARLOS NUZMAN, IN PARTICULAR CONCERNING THE VOTE FOR THE HOST CITY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES BY THE IOC SESSION IN 2009.

With regard to the status of Mr Carlos Nuzman as an IOC Honorary Member, the EB, following the recommendation of the IOC Ethics Commission (see annex), decides with immediate effect:

  • To suspend Mr Carlos Nuzman provisionally from all the rights, prerogatives and functions deriving from his quality as an IOC Honorary Member; and
  • To withdraw Mr Carlos Nuzman from the Coordination Commission for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

With regard to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), the EB states that the COB and its President, Carlos Nuzman, were responsible for the candidature of Rio de Janeiro in 2009. Therefore, the EB takes the following decision with immediate effect:

  • To suspend provisionally the Brazilian Olympic Committee.
  • According to Rule 59 of the Olympic Charter, provisional suspension in this case means in particular:
    • Subsidies and payments from the IOC to the COB are frozen.
    • The COB is not allowed to exercise its membership rights in NOC associations.
    • To protect the interests of the Brazilian athletes, this decision shall not affect the Brazilian athletes.
    • Therefore, the IOC will accept a Brazilian Olympic Team in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and in all other competitions under the umbrella of the COB with all rights and obligations.
    • Olympic scholarships to Brazilian athletes will continue to be paid.
  • This provisional suspension may be lifted partly or fully when the governance issues of the COB have been addressed to the satisfaction of the EB.

With regard to the Rio Organising Committee, the EB notes that Mr Carlos Nuzman since its formation was and still is its President and Mr Leonardo Gryner having worked in the Organising Committee for many years. Therefore, the EB takes the following decision:

  • The EB states that the IOC closed all its obligations with the Organising Committee in December 2016, as confirmed by the Organising Committee. The IOC and the Olympic Movement’s financial contribution exceeded significantly their contractual obligations, taking into consideration the grave crisis affecting the country.
  • The EB decides to suspend provisionally all other relations with the Organising Committee.
  • This provisional suspension may be lifted partly or fully when the governance issues of the Organising Committee have been addressed to the satisfaction of the EB.

The IOC reiterates its full commitment to the protection of the integrity of sport. The IOC will continue to address any issue affecting this integrity under the rules and regulations of its recently reformed governance system. In order to follow up this case properly, the EB asks all judicial authorities to provide the IOC Ethics Commission with all the available information at their earliest convenience. The IOC will continue to fully cooperate with all these judicial authorities. It is in the highest interests of the IOC to be able to fully address such matters concerning an IOC Member or an IOC Honorary Member as soon as possible, in order to protect its reputation as an organisation.

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Leander
Leander
6 years ago

Wasn’t he bribing members of the IOC? Why aren’t they punishing themselves?

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