«Να σεβαστείτε την αυτονομία των αθλητικών Ομοσπονδιών και της εθνικής Ολυμπιακής Επιτροπής», προστάζει η ΔΟΕ το ελληνικό υφυπουργείο Αθλητισμού, στο επίμαχο θέμα των ηλικιακών ορίων και των λοιπών «φωτογραφικών» ρυθμίσεων του νέου αθλητικού νόμου.
Απτόητος και πιστός στην κυβερνητική τακτική των fake news, o Λευτέρης Αυγενάκης ανακοίνωσε ότι η επιστολή της ΔΟΕ «προτείνει να συνεχιστεί ο διάλογος με την ΕΟΕ και της Εθνικές Ομοσπονδίες, προκειμένου να αποσαφηνιστούν όποια ζητήματα τυχόν ανακύπτουν».
Αλλά στο πρωτότυπο κείμενο που βρίσκεται στη διάθεση του documentonews.gr, δεν υπάρχει καμία αναφορά σε κυβερνητική εμπλοκή. Αντιθέτως, τονίζεται ότι απαιτείται αυτονομία και αυτορύθμιση, όπως άλλωστε υπογραμμίστηκε και σε προηγούμενη αλληλογραφία.
Το σχετικό εδάφιο-χαστούκι αναφέρει τα εξής (σε δική μας μετάφραση): «Αθλητικοί οργανισμοί που ανήκουν στο Ολυμπιακό Κίνημα έχουν το δικαίωμα και την υποχρέωση της αυτονομίας, στην οποία περιλαμβάνεται το δικαίωμα ρύθμισης της εσωτερικής δομής και διοίκησης, καθώς και το καθήκον εφαρμογής των βασικών διοικητικών αρχών. Ονομάζουμε αυτή την αρχή “υπεύθυνη αυτονομία”. Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, ο αθλητικός νόμος δεν πρέπει να επιβάλλει παράλογες ή απαράδεκτες προδιαγραφές, οι οποίες αντιτίθενται καθαρά στον Ολυμπιακό Χάρτη ή στο καταστατικό των Διεθνών και Εθνικών Αθλητικών Ομοσπονδιών».
Υπογραμμίζεται επίσης, ότι οι όποιες αλλαγές είναι ανεπίτρεπτο να έχουν αναδρομική ισχύ, ώστε να είναι ομαλή η μετάβαση.
Στην κατακλείδα της επιστολής, η οποία είχε αποδέκτη την ΕΟΕ, η Διεθνής Ολυμπιακή Επιτροπή υπενθυμίζει ότι η κατάρτιση της αθλητικής νομοθεσίας θα πρέπει να γίνεται με διάλογο ανάμεσα σε όλα τα ενδιαφερόμενα μέρη.
Ακολουθεί το πλήρες αγγλόφωνο κείμενο της επιστολής της ΔΟΕ, για του λόγου το αληθές:
Dear President,
Dear Secretary General,
We acknowledge, with thanks, receipt of your email dated 25 November 2019.
First of all, we are very pleased to note that the formal procedure to register and give legal effect to the HOC Statutes adopted by the HOC General Assembly on 13 June 2018, and formally approved by the IOC (with a few comments) on 24 August 2018, has been duly completed. In addition, we understand that the legal status of the HOC has also evolved from a legal entity of public law into a legal entity of private law, as per our recommendations, which is a major achievement in our joint efforts to strengthen the “responsible autonomy” of the HOC.
With regard to the recent amendment to the law which you have shared with us, we note that the age and term limitations would apply to the National Sports Federations (NFs) and not to the HOC (on the understanding that the HOC has already undertaken to include in its Statutes – at a forthcoming HOC General Assembly – specific age and/or term limitations for the elected members of the HOC, as was suggested initially and strongly recommended by the IOC in the interest of good governance – please refer to our self-explanatory letter dated 24 August 2018).
Therefore, this is a matter that should essentially be discussed between the NFs concerned and their respective International Federations (IFs). As far as we are concerned, we can only reiterate our position of principle, as clearly expressed in our letter dated 22 March 2019, in that sports organisations belonging to the Olympic Movement have the rights and obligations of autonomy, including the right of determining their internal structure and governance, but also the duty to implement the basic principles of good governance. This is what we call the principle of “responsible autonomy”. In this context, the sports law should not impose unreasonable or unacceptable requirements which clearly go against the Olympic Charter (for the HOC) or the statutes of the IFs concerned (for their respective NFs). However, it may establish a number of reasonable conditions (aimed, in particular, at ensuring that the basic principles of good governance are implemented) for the sports organisations to be eligible to benefit from government support and public funding. The question of establishing reasonable age and/or term limitations is clearly an important element of the basic standards of good governance. As you know, this is something that the IOC has applied to itself a long time ago, and which is strongly recommended for the constituents of the Olympic Movement as part of the basic principles of good governance. Therefore, we do not have any objection, in substance, to the principle of establishing such limitations. What is regrettable is that this had to be addressed in the law rather than being implemented directly and proactively by each sports organisation in their respective statutes, or at least discussed and mutually accepted with the government authorities, as was recommended in our past discussions.
In view of this, we would suggest the following:
1. The NFs which do not agree to the specific conditions mentioned under this amendment to the law should refer directly to their respective IFs and seek their position.
2. The HOC and the NFs concerned should continue the discussions with the relevant authorities to find a compromise solution so as to make sure that the principle of “responsible autonomy” is fully respected by all parties, and, at least, to clarify and confirm the following pending issues:
· The fact that such conditions should not apply retroactively, to allow for a smooth transition.
· The practical consequences for the NFs if, for whatever reason, they do not implement such conditions. Would this mean only that such NFs would no longer be eligible to receive government support/funding but could still operate normally and perform their activities in accordance with the IF regulations, or would there be further implications (and in such a case, which ones)?
Lastly, we take this opportunity to remind you of point 2 of our letter dated 22 March 2019 concerning the “merged” NFs. We would appreciate it if you could give us an update on the progress made in your discussions with the government authorities and the NFs and IFs concerned, in order to rectify the situation as soon as possible in the best interest of the sports and the athletes concerned.
As we understand that the sports law as a whole will soon be revised, this might be a very good opportunity to clarify and definitively resolve any pending issues related to the above and make sure that all parties concerned (including the HOC and the NFs) are closely involved in the preparatory work and discussions. In view of this, we recommend that you share a copy of this letter with the authorities concerned, as a basis for discussion. We are also ready to work closely together with you and the authorities concerned to make sure that the new sports law is fully compatible with the principles which govern the Olympic Movement.
Thank you for your understanding, and please keep us informed of any further developments.
Best regards,
James MACLEOD
Director of Olympic Solidarity
and NOC Relations
Jérôme POIVEY
Head of Institutional Relations
and Governance, NOC Relations