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London 2012: aaron cook considers legal action after taekwondorejection by ferujkll sdff
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London 2012: aaron cook considers legal action after taekwondorejection |
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The British Olympic Association is considering the unprecedentedstep of forcing GB Taekwondo to select Aaron Cook, the world No1,after he was rejected for Olympic selection for a third time onWednesday. The BOA will discuss the case on Thursday after Cook was said to beconsidering all legal options by his representatives, who describedthe decision as "an embarrassment" and "a disgrace". GB Taekwondo's selection panel met on Wednesday morning after beingtold by the BOA to reconsider its decision to select LutaloMuhammad, ranked 104th in the world in the -80kg category, infavour of Cook. However, the five-strong panel again nominatedMuhammad and the BOA said it would consider its next move after itsOlympic qualification standards panel comprising including thechef de mission, Andy Hunt, and the deputy chefs de mission, SirClive Woodward and Mark England, and the athletes commission chair,Sarah Winckless had spoken. The panel's meeting broke up on Wednesday night without a decisionand they will reconvene on Thursday.
They are considering theminutes of the selection meeting, which was observed by a BOAlawyer. "The key thing is, have they followed the process we prescribed?"said Hunt. "We spent a lot of time over the last week making surewe had a procedure in place that we could be entirely satisfiedpresented a fair opportunity for both athletes to be properlyrepresented and for a voting procedure that was appropriate andgave all members of the panel the chance to vote." Having taken legal advice, one option believed to be open to theBOA is to force GB Taekwondo to select Cook. The Olympic Chartermakes clear that in "exceptional circumstances" a national Olympiccommittee can intervene in selection matters. However, BOA insiders also recognise that would be a huge step totake, given the ramifications for other sports and athletes and thepossible impact on its Games preparations.
It would probably bechallenged by GB Taekwondo at the court of arbitration for sport. Cook said he was "disappointed but not surprised" at the verdict ofGB Taekwondo. "This is an embarrassment not only for the sport oftaekwondo internationally but also for Great Britain's reputationin hosting the London 2012 Games," his representative said. "If the British No1 and reigning European champion does notcompete, it will be a national disgrace which the world's mediawill highlight. We remain committed to overturning this flawedrecommendation." Cook severed ties with GB Taekwondo's world-class performanceprogramme last year leading to suspicions that his non-selectionwas politically motivated.
That suggestion has been vigorously rejected by the GB Taekwondoperformance director Gary Hall, who argues that changes to the wayhead shots are scored make Muhammad a better medal bet than Cook,who came fourth in Beijing as a 17-year-old. "That has never been in the consideration. The selection procedureis very clear we don't care where you work, we're there to getthe best set of medals for Team GB," said Hall last week, after theBOA rejected Muhammad's nomination. Prior to the meeting of the selection panel, Cook's camp released astatement in which they confirmed he had written to the BOAchairman Lord Moynihan, copying in the sports minister HughRobertson, over the decision.
He also sympathised with Muhammad andcriticised those who had sent him hate mail. "We have always stated that we see Lutalo's involvement in thismess as being a direct result of the decision by the PerformanceTeam of British Taekwondo to recommend Lutalo for selection wrongly in our opinion," it said. "Like Aaron, Lutalo is also a victim. Lutalo is an athlete ofimmense promise for the future. We have only ever discussed facts.Lutalo's record as a Taekwondo athlete in the Olympic category of-80kg does not compare to Aaron's.
"Aaron has beaten seven of the Top 15 of his Olympic rivals intheir most recent fights and lost to one, whilst Lutalo has notbeaten any of them. Aaron is ranked No1 in the World and OlympicRankings because he is the best Taekwondo athlete at his weightclass in the world. These are all facts, not opinion." But there is a high degree of irritation among the governing body'sstaff at what they see as interference by the BOA into performanceissues. They insist Muhammad's selection can be justified onperformance grounds. GB Taekwondo had been keen to underline that Joseph Salim, itscoach in the under 80kg category, did not have a vote and left theroom while they were cast.
"I don't want to prejudge it. Was it afair process? Did both athletes get fair representation? Havinglooked at that, we'll then look at all other aspects of it," saidHunt. He insisted that it was not the BOA's job to select athletes,but said the panel would stop at nothing to ensure a fair process. "That is absolutely down to the governing body.
We are not expertsin taekwondo, but we have been challenging to say the least inmaking sure we are comfortable with the process. I can't say anymore until I have seen the paperwork.". I am a professional writer from Motherboards, which contains a great deal of information about french bordeaux wines , grocery wholesale distributors, welcome to visit!
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