Alpine skiing-Swiss, Austrians in quartet appealing FIS election result to CAS

Austria's ski federation (OESV) general secretary Christian Scherer said it was the duty of the associations to make sure procedures were followed at any election, especially with only one candidate. "We want lawfulness and we want to make sure the election is properly reviewed.

Four national skiing associations, including powerhouses Austria and Switzerland, have filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over last month's presidential vote at global governing body FIS.

FIS said an appeal had been filed to sport's highest court by Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Croatia. "The four appellants notified FIS last Friday that 'procedural motions that were obviously formulated according to democratic principles and correctly submitted or brought forward were not admitted by the external FIS legal counsel'.

"'For this reason, we have decided to have the proceedings of the FIS Congress 2022 reviewed by CAS as a precautionary measure'", FIS said, quoting from the letter by the appellants. Austria's ski federation (OESV) general secretary Christian Scherer said it was the duty of the associations to make sure procedures were followed at any election, especially with only one candidate.

"We want lawfulness and we want to make sure the election is properly reviewed. We want this for now but also for the future," Scherer told Reuters. "It is our duty to make sure of legitimacy. We have an obligation because that (one candidate) could happen to other international federations, such as biathlon later this year, where the OESV is again present."

Swedish-born billionaire businessman Johan Eliasch won another term in the elections in late May, having run unopposed after having first won in 2021. British-based Eliasch, who has dual nationality, is only the fifth FIS president in 97 years.

Germany's ski association (DSV) said the appeal was unusual but necessary given that a legal check conducted by the four appellants pointed to shortcomings in applying FIS statutes. "This is not a decision that we made lightly, because we are of course aware that such an approach has not been usual or necessary in skiing up to now," the DSV told Reuters in an email.

"It would be important if we could then get clarity as soon as possible. Due to the urgency of the matter, we assume that the CAS will not allow too much time to pass. However, it will probably take at least three months before a decision is reached." Eliasch' re-election in May was far from a smooth vote, with some members, including the four associations, expressing complaints over the procedures of the vote, and some opting not to take part.

"FIS is confident that the proceedings of the FIS 2022 Congress were held in strict compliance with the FIS Statutes and Swiss law, as confirmed by FIS legal advisors," FIS said. "Furthermore, FIS believes that the allegations put forward by the four National Member Associations are entirely without merit or substance."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)