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AIBA President meets Referees and Judges in Italy, calls for change in mentality

June 24th, 2021 / IBA

AIBA President Mr. Umar Kremlev met with the Referees and Judges of the EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships in Italy and stressed the importance of changing the mentality among Referees and Judges as the decision-makers of boxers’ results.

‘First and foremost, I would like to say that I appreciate your work,’ AIBA President Kremlev said. ‘You have to take your work thoughtfully, you have to be cautious and responsible. You represent global boxing, not a sole country. AIBA now is a debt-free organization, and we will invest in our athletes’ well-being. We have to make AIBA stronger together. Those, who do not want to be in the team, who do not respect the rules, will be excluded. We should be the guarantors of fair play for our athletes.’

EUBC President Mr. Franco Falcinelli added that refereeing and judging is a very ‘sensitive question’ for boxing.

‘This area is under scrutiny of the IOC. We have to improve significantly to achieve our goals,’ he said.

Chris Roberts, the Chairperson of the AIBA R&J Committee, expressed satisfaction with the Referees and Judgess work in Italy.

‘This is really important that we can talk directly. The Committee is doing its best to ensure the progress of our judging. We will have new courses during the upcoming 12 months on a regular basis. All the manuals will be updated. We will look for young blood and create a new educational system,’ he added.

The finals of the EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships will be held on Thursday, June 24th.