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Sascoc lifts ASA suspension

DIGGING IN: Ousted ASA president James Evans
DIGGING IN: Ousted ASA president James Evans

THE South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) said yesterday that it had lifted its suspension of embattled Athletics SA, adding it would deal with the interim board running the federation.

The move means athletes will be eligible for selection for multi-sport events, such as the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow from July 23 to August 3.

But ousted ASA president James Evans, who insists he is still in charge and that the interim board is illegal, warned that SA's athletes could be banned from international competition. He said only the IAAF, the world governing body, could recognise a national federation.

Sascoc said in a statement that it had made the decision after the IAAF again failed to get involved in resolving the crisis in the sport locally, which has dragged on since early last year.

Senior IAAF official Cheikh Thiare, who cancelled a trip to SA last year to probe the problems facing athletics, apparently because of ill health, failed to arrive again last week.

The problems facing athletics started with a massive boardroom split last year when most of the executive accused Evans of behaving like a dictator.

Sascoc suspended the ASA board in April last year and put the federation into administration. But the IAAF forced Sascoc to hand control back to Evans, though it retaliated by suspending the federation - again citing poor corporate governance.

At ASA's overdue annual general meeting in November delegates decided to boot Evans and the board out and appoint an interim committee to run the sport until a full election can be held.

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