Court criticises FEI over application of judging exemption
The FEI has come upward nether burn downwards from the world’s highest sports courtroom over the application of its exemption to the three-judge dominion for CDI3* dressage events.
The exemption has been used past times smaller nations since 2010, helping them to relieve money.
Such events require a minimum of 3 unusual judges on the ground jury. The exemption allows smallers nations to run such events with exclusively ii unusual judges.
This has saved them the toll of flight inwards an additional unusual judge, unremarkably inwards concern class, for each event.
The exemption has been sought as well as granted past times the FEI 25 times since its introduction, including past times New Zealand as well as Australia.
The FEI of late announced an end to the exemption from Jan 1.
The exemption was a key topic inwards interwoven legal activity involving Dominican Republic passenger Yvonne Losos de Muñiz as well as the Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation against the FEI as well as the Brazilian National Equestrian Federation. It arose over events inwards Brazil inwards which Brazilian passenger Tavares de Almeida gained points towards qualifying to compete inwards dressage at the London Olympics.
The ii arbitrations at number centred on the qualification as well as participation procedures for the dressage contest at the 2012 Olympic Games, the Court of Arbitration for Sport tribunal which heard the illustration said.
The qualification as well as participation criteria for the dressage contest at the Olympics are educate out past times the FEI, with a points scheme used to determine which countries may ship riders to the Olympics. Countries are grouped based on vii geographical regions.
Only ane province per grouping qualifies to ship a passenger to the Olympics.
The ii countries at number inwards the illustration – Brazil as well as the Dominican Republic – are both inwards the Central as well as South America group.
The international dressage competitions at the oculus of the activity were held inwards Brazil on Feb 10-12 as well as Feb 24-26 Feb 2012.
The competitions were CDI3* events – a category of lawsuit where the results count for Olympic qualification.
Five judges, 3 from Brazil as well as ii “foreign” (non-Brazilian) judges made upward the ground jury that judged the competitions.
Before the competitions, past times emails In January, the Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation contacted the FEI after seeing the draft schedule for the commence of the competitions.
It raised concerns most the fact that the events were to hold upward judged past times exclusively ii unusual judges as well as pointed out that the FEI Rules for Dressage Events required that at that spot hold upward at to the lowest degree 3 unusual judges for the event.
The federation also noted the exercise of Salim Nigri equally ane of the Brazilian judges.
It suggested this amounted to a conflict of interest, equally he was a old chef d’equipe for Brazil as well as the electrical flow dressage manager of the Brazilian federation.
The FEI responded past times e-mail the adjacent twenty-four hr menses that the FEI regularly granted exceptions to the requirement that at that spot hold upward 3 unusual judges.
As to Nigri, the FEI said that it had contacted him as well as that he had explained that he did non conduct keep a conflict of involvement because he was non currently the chef d’equipe for Brazil as well as had no responsibleness for selecting the squad or private riders from Brazil.
Under the circumstances, the FEI said that it considered it a “non-issue”.
The Dominican Republic trunk replied the same day: “We fully trust both local as well as unusual FEI judges to consummate their operate correctly, although inwards my persuasion these exceptions to the dominion are non a fair solution for Olympic qualifiers as well as require to hold upward evaluated.”
The competitions were so held equally scheduled inwards mid as well as belatedly February.
Brazilian Tavares de Almeida as well as her horse, Samba, finished commence inwards the private rankings for Central as well as South America, Group E, with 1353 points from their 8 best results.
Brazil hence qualified equally the province inwards Group E to ship a passenger to the Olympics to compete inwards dressage.
Losos de Muniz, as well as her horse, Liebling II, finished mo inwards the private rankings from Group E with 1326 points.
She had non competed inwards either of the competitions at the oculus of the action, but took purpose inwards diverse other FEI-recognized competitions inwards the U.S. to gain qualifying points.
On Feb 26, the Dominican Republic’s equestrian trunk filed a protestation with the Secretary General of the FEI.
It contended, alongside other things, that the results of the competitions should non count toward qualification for the Olympics because at that spot were exclusively ii international judges as well as that Nigri had a conflict of interest.
It argued the FEI should never conduct keep approved the belongings of the competitions inwards the commence house because the Brazilian trunk submitted the draft schedules for those events less than xvi weeks earlier they were to hold upward held as well as did non invite other national federations to attend.
The determination outlined the treatment of the issues that ultimately led to the appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which heard the illustration inwards Switzerland inwards July.
The FEI as well as the Brazilian body, inwards its submission to the court, said that dressage has traditionally been rigid inwards sure as shooting regions, such equally Western as well as Central Europe, but much less so inwards other parts of the world.
As a consequence, ane of the major goals of the FEI is to promote dressage exterior of Europe, inwards detail past times offering riders reasonable opportunities to compete at international degree inside their ain region.
For several years, Brazil has contributed to this attempt past times organizing international dressage competitions.
One of the challenges inwards organizing international dressage events inwards Central as well as South America is the toll associated with attracting as well as making go arrangements for 3 unusual FEI judges, most of whom reside inwards Europe.
In an attempt to address this, inwards 2009, the FEI Dressage Committee decided to do an exception to the three-foreign-judge dominion for CDI3* events exterior Europe.
The FEI confirmed as well as formalized this determination at its coming together of Jan 18, 2010, inwards which dispensation could hold upward given to require exclusively ii unusual judges.
The exception has been requested as well as granted 25 times since its introduction as well as has never been denied when requested.
Countries that conduct keep held events nether the exception include Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand as well as the United States.
The availability of the exception has been known to the entire dressage community since 2010. The FEI had received no negative comments earlier the halt of Jan 2012, when the Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation contacted the FEI regarding the competitions inwards question.
During the qualification menses for the Olympics, Brazil organized 12 CDI3* events. Ten of those were organized with the do goodness of the exception. No challenge or electrical charge was raised until the introduce matter.
The tribunal, inwards its decision, traversed the reasons for the exemption allowing ii unusual judges.
It noted that the FEI Dressage Committee ultimately delegated the day-to-day management as well as application of the Exception Memo to the FEI Dressage Department.
“Throughout 2010, feedback most the exception was positive as well as so the FEI Dressage Department exactly continued to apply it, though at that spot is no evidence that the FEI Dressage Committee always decided to extend or renew it.
“More importantly, at that spot is no evidence that the FEI Dressage Committee always later on considered, much less decided, to do an exception to the three-foreign-judge dominion nether the Dressage Olympic Ranking List in ane lawsuit that List came into existence.
“Rather, the FEI Dressage Department exactly kept on applying the Exception Memo – including for the competitions at number hither – equally it had done prior to the Olympic qualification period.
“In the panel’s view, this practise of the FEI Dressage Department cannot hold upward construed equally a determination of the FEl Dressage Committee to do an exception to the three-foreign-judge dominion nether the Dressage Olympic Ranking List.
“Rather, it appears that no-one on the FEI Dressage Committee (or inwards the FEI Dressage Department, for that matter) always considered the issue. The panel considers the FEI’s oversight inwards this regard to a greater extent than than a footling unfortunate, equally it lies at the pump of this dispute – a dispute that has caused unnecessary upset as well as dubiety for Mrs Losos de Muñiz as well as Ms Tavares de Almeida, equally good equally their national federations.
“It does not, however, render a footing for deciding non to include the results of the competitions inwards the Olympic rankings,” it said.
The panel said it took the see that the scores inwards interrogation should hold upward included.
“The evidence inwards this illustration shows that it was good known inwards the dressage community that the FEI was routinely approving the belongings of CDI3* events exterior Europe with exclusively ii unusual judges during the Olympic qualification period.
“It was non until Jan 2012, presently earlier the closed of the qualification period, that the [Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation] raised whatsoever concern inwards this regard with the FEI.
“Furthermore, the bulk of the panel considers that the FEI’s blessing of the competitions as well as their inclusion on the official calendar, equally good equally the absence of a challenge earlier they were held, created a legitimate expectation on the purpose of the riders who participated that the results would count towards the Olympic rankings.
“The decisive declaration for the panel, however, is that riders conduct keep no influence on the organisation of events as well as no mightiness to know whether the organizer has a valid exception to the three-foreign-judge dominion nether the Dressage Olympic Ranking List.
“Moreover, inwards this case, at that spot was no evidence showing that the [Brazilian federation] or Ms Tavares de Almeida violated whatsoever applicable rules inwards the qualifying process.
“In lite of this, the panel considers that it would hold upward unfair to Ms Tavares de Almeida non to include the results of the competitions inwards the Olympic rankings because of a error that occurred elsewhere – namely, inside the FEI.”
The panel said neither Losos de Muñiz nor the Dominican Republic Equestrian Federation had provided whatsoever evidence to propose that having exclusively ii unusual judges on the ground jury affected the results of the competitions inwards whatsoever way, much less that it benefited Tavares de Almeida.
The panel rejected the appeal as well as upheld the scores.
However, inwards commenting on costs inwards abide by of ii of the actions, it noted: “The tribunal considers that the FEI bears responsibleness for both of these cases having arisen at all because the competitions were non organized inwards accordance with the Dressage Olympic Ranking List due to an administrative oversight on the purpose of the FEI.”
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