Johannesburg - Athletics SA (ASA) was suspended by South Africa's Olympic governing body on Sunday after its members ignored the sanctions placed on its board.
“The membership of ASA, as a national federation, under the regulation of Sascoc, is hereby suspended with immediate effect,” SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) president Gideon Sam said in a statement.
“At this juncture, Sascoc has decided that athletes of ASA will not be included in future Team SA squads for the Commonwealth Youth Games, Commonwealth Games, Anoca Youth Games, Zone VI Games, All Africa Games, Olympic Youth Games and the Olympic Games,” he said.
Sascoc said all athletes registered with ASA would be removed from the Sascoc's Operation Excellence (Opex) programme, which provides funding and support.
The tier one athletes on the programme include former Olympic long jump silver medallist Khotso Mokoena, sprinting sensation Anaso Jobodwana and African women's javelin throw record holder Sunette Viljoen.
After a special general meeting in Pretoria on Saturday, ASA said it would continue to recognise the ASA board, which was suspended by Sascoc in April. The meeting was called by ASA's provincial members.
Earlier this month, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) also confirmed its support for the elected board members, led by embattled president James Evans.
The IAAF confirmed that it did not recognise Sascoc-appointed ASA administrator Zola Majavu.
Sascoc said it was suspending ASA in terms of Clause 9.3 of its Articles of Association which gave it the power to “suspend, fine and terminate” the membership of any federation which infringed the Sascoc constitution or brought the organisation into disrepute.
“Sascoc has done its utmost best to restore order and sanity during the debacle at ASA,” Sam said.
He said Evans had been impeached by ASA members, and had retaliated by unconstitutionally suspending seven board members.
Evans claimed he had not been removed, but had been impeached in an unconstitutional process, and had not been charged or given the right to defend the allegations against him.
“Sascoc’s untiring efforts to correct the maladministration in ASA, and not to support the attempts of Mr Evans to regain the presidency of the federation which impeached him by a vote of 33 to one with four abstentions, has been hampered by the IAAF,” Sam said.
“We have engaged with the IAAF verbally, in writing and via a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on June 15.”
“It has been evident that the IAAF does not recognise Sascoc as a sports authority in South Africa.”
He said that while ASA could continue to engage with the IAAF on the functioning and administration of the sport, it was no longer affiliated to Sascoc. - Sapa