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Iraqi sports group set to sue IOC after Beijing Games ban

A group representing Iraqi athletes will file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over its decision to uphold its ban on Iraq at the Beijing Games, an Iraqi sports official said yesterday.

The Association for the Protection of Iraqi Athletes’ Rights will take legal action against the IOC for damaging Iraq’s reputation and infringing on its sovereignty and independence, Jaza’ir al-Sahlani, the spokesman for the country’s interim athletic committee, told the Voices of Iraq news agency.

The Iraqi government dissolved the National Olympic Committee in May, saying it was illegitimate because its election had lacked a legal quorum.

The IOC regarded the move as serious political interference in the affairs of the country’s supposed independent athletic body and asked the government to revoke its decision.

The Iraqi government has nothing to do with the lawsuit, al-Sahlani said, adding that the IOC had refused to receive Iraqi officials who wanted to make their case.

But the IOC said on Thursday that Iraqi officials had been invited to meet its members in Switzerland to discuss possible solutions, but it had not received a positive response.

There have been complaints in Iraq’s sports community that the country’s Youth and Sports Ministry is dominated by Shiite Muslims, who are said to bear a grudge against some members of the dissolved Olympic committee.

Iraq would have sent five athletes to compete in archery, rowing, judo and weightlifting contests to the Beijing Games.

The IOC said it was “very unlikely” that these athletes would be able to compete in Beijing after all.

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