Following the initial sanctions rendered by the Tournament Technical Committee (TTC) on a member of the Chinese coaching staff, additional action has been taken by IWBF due to the severity of the incident.
IWBF takes seriously the welfare of our athletes and it is our responsibility to provide a safe environment for all our athletes to compete in. We do not condone the physical abuse of players. For this reason, with the approval of the IWBF Executive Council and the Commission for Legal Matters and Eligibility, it has been decided to extend the suspension imposed on the member of staff in question and to remove him from the Championships.
As soon as the incident was reported to the TTC it took immediate action within the confines of their authority and issued sanctions that included the one-match ban. However, it was their opinion that the member of the Chinese coaching staff’s behaviour required further sanctions beyond their authority and they passed the incident on to be reviewed by the IWBF Secretary-General, Maureen Orchard, as per IWBF regulations.
IWBF Secretary-General, Maureen Orchard, said, “I understand the frustrations with the perception of the initial sanctions, but as the governing body of the sport we had to go through the correct procedures to ensure the suspension was done in the correct and formal manner.
“Upon reviewing the incident on video and reading the report it was clear that a one-game sanction was not suitable for the action. The member of the coaching staff is a coach, a person of authority over the athlete and he must be held to a higher standard as a result.
“The athletes are at the heart of our sport and it is our responsibility to protect them and ensure they can play the sport in a safe and enjoyable environment. The actions of this member of staff were not within the ethics of the game and for this reason our decision to suspend him from the tournament was easy.
“We are sure our national organisation for governing wheelchair basketball in China, the National Paralympic Committee of China shares our views and concerns in this matter and we are in communication with them to ensure their wheelchair basketball programme shares our principles and to ensure that the development of the sport is not affected by this one individuals’ actions.
“However, we want to send out a clear message that we do not tolerate this behaviour.”
