Report: Iraq Banned from Olympics, a Lawsuit to Follow?

[WSJ_law_blog]

A decision today by the the International Olympic Committee to uphold a ban on Iraqi teams at the 2008 Beijing Games exposes a rift in Iraq’s government, and may lead to a lawsuit.

The IOC said the Iraqi government missed the deadline to address accusations of political interference in the country’s National Olympic Committee. ”Clearly we’d very much like to have seen Iraq’s athletes in Beijing,” said IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies. ”We are very disappointed that the athletes have been so ill-served by their own government’s actions.” Here’s the AP story.

In May, the Iraqi government dissolved the country’s National Olympic Committee, claiming, among other reasons, that it was illegitimate because it lacked a legal quorum. (The AP reports that four members of the committee, including its chief, were kidnapped two years ago and their fates are unknown.) Moreover, a rift may exist between Iraq’s Youth and Sports Ministry, which is dominated by Shiites, and the NOC, which includes several holdovers from the Saddam-era Olympic Committee, run by his eldest son, Odai.
The IOC denounced the dissolution as ‘’serious interference” in what is supposed to be an independent body and demanded the government respect the NOC’s autonomy.

Five Iraqi athletes were expected to compete this year in non-track and field sports — archery, judo, rowing and weightlifting. Their places will be offered to athletes from other countries.

Basil Abdul-Mahdi, an adviser to the Iraqi minister for youth and sport, said the government never had any intention of reversing its decision and the ban was no surprise. He said Iraqi participation in Arab regional competitions would be unaffected. ”We will bring suit to defend our sports rights,” Abdul-Mahdi said.