Boris van der Vorst's appeal to the CAS has been upheld ©Boris van der Vorst

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled that Boris van der Vorst should have been eligible to stand in the International Boxing Association (IBA) Presidential election which took place last month.

Van der Vorst and three other appealing candidates who were disqualified from IBA elections committed only one minor breach of the rules, early campaigning, which was not enough to be deemed ineligible by the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU), the CAS ruled.

It also found that incumbent IBA President Umar Kremlev was guilty of the same offence, but had not been prevented from standing.

The CAS said that candidates found to have violated rules over "early campaigning" deserved "a light sanction such as a warning or even no sanction, but not an exclusion from the election".

Despite being found to have also breached this rule by the CAS, the incumbent Kremlev was not sanctioned before the election and able to be elected unopposed, by acclamation.

Van der Vorst, the Dutch Boxing Federation President, was declared ineligible to stand as a candidate for President by the BIIU on May 12, the day before the election was to take place at the IBA Extraordinary Congress.

Four others - USA Boxing chief executive Mike McAtee, Steve Hartley, the President of Boxing New Zealand, Per-Axel Sjöholm, head of the Swedish Boxing Federation, and Danish Boxing Association President Lars Brovil were also deemed ineligible to stand for Executive Board positions.

Van der Vorst filed for provisional measures at the CAS to have the election stopped, but this was rejected.

IBA President Umar Kremlev was found to have breached the election rule as the four ineligible candidates, although the CAS said none of them should have faced a heavy sanction ©Getty Images
IBA President Umar Kremlev was found to have breached the election rule as the four ineligible candidates, although the CAS said none of them should have faced a heavy sanction ©Getty Images

The IBA held elections on the second day of the Congress, May 14, with Kremlev being elected unopposed for a full four-year term as President.

The Russian has been head of the world amateur boxing body since December 2020, overseeing changes including a re-brand.

Van der Vorst, McAtee, Hartley and Sjöholm subsequently launched full CAS appeals against the BIIU decision ruling them ineligible. 

Reacting to today's verdict, the four said they "look forward to cooperating with IBA to reinstate the election process, as soon as possible".

Today's CAS ruling is expected to force the IBA to organise fresh elections.

"IBA acknowledges today’s CAS decision, will take legal advice on its implications and will consider appropriate action on 24 June, when the newly-elected Board of Directors is scheduled to meet in Lausanne," the governing body said.

"IBA notes that the decision to make the appellants in this case ineligible to stand for election in May of this year was made by an independent body, the Interim Nomination Unit. 

"IBA remains grateful to the independent bodies which have supported our commitment to achieving the highest standards of governance."

The IBA has had its Olympic recognition suspended and was not involved at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images
The IBA has had its Olympic recognition suspended and was not involved at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

On April 28, the BIIU Interim Nomination Unit chair Piermarco Zen-Ruffinen - a Swiss ex-judge and former professor of sports law at the University of Neuchâtel - referred the matter to the IBA Disciplinary Committee to determine whether these allegations violated election regulations.

On May 11, the IBA Disciplinary Committee said the candidates did not breach any rules, with a BIIU verdict coming the following day, finding them guilty.

Jacques Blondin, one of the members of the BIIU Interim Nomination Unit, said at the Congress that the IBA Disciplinary Committee and the BIIU have different remits, hence different verdicts were reached.

The embattled IBA had its Olympic recognition suspended in 2019, when know as AIBA, and boxing has been left off the provisional programme for Los Angeles 2028.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) withdrew recognition due to concerns over judging and refereeing, financial stability and governance.

An IOC Boxing Task Force, chaired by International Gymnastics Federation President Morinari Watanabe, instead oversaw the boxing tournament at Tokyo 2020.

"The IOC has taken note of the CAS ruling and expects IBA to draw the necessary conclusions immediately," an IOC spokesperson told insidethegames.

"The ruling adds to very serious concerns around IBA's governance, the IOC had, unfortunately, to express on multiple occasions.

"The IOC has been monitoring the situation of IBA very closely and our position has been clearly stated multiple times. 

"The various IOC concerns, including IBA’s referees and judges process and its financial dependency on the state-owned company Gazprom, are still not resolved."