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BAN FOR WRESTLER ACCUSED OF RACISM DELAYED UNTIL AFTER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Insidethegames.biz
Aug 14 2013
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
By Nick Butler
August 14 - The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
(FILA) has postponed the ban issued against Rıza Kayaalp, the Turkish
wrestler accused of making racist comments on Twitter, until after
next month's World Championships pending a review into the decision.
FILA issued Kayaalp with a six-month ban last week after comments were
posted to the wrestler's Twitter account which strongly criticised
Armenians and Greeks and blamed them for the anti-Government protests
which broke out in Turkey earlier this year.
However, after the Turkish Wrestling Federation (TGF) appealed the
decision, FILA ruled to postpone the case, leaving Kayaalp free to
compete at September's FILA World Championships in Budapest.
The announcement also comes a day after TGF chairman Hamza Yerlikaya
defended Kayaalp and vowed to take the "unlawful" ban to the Court
of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the appeal was unsuccessful.
Kayaalp, 23, competes in the Greco-Roman heavyweight division and,
after winning the 2011 world title, won a bronze medal at last summer's
London Olympic Games.
In June, a Twitter account named @rizakayaalpriza, and believed to
belong to the wrestler, launched a string of tweets which consisted
of messages such as: "these are the Armenian and Greek dogs," and
"you just leave the streets to Armenians, you f**ing looters" and
"F**k you traitors".
These tweets were hastily deleted following the strong reaction to
the comments.
However, Yerlikaya hinted that the TGF would argue that the
controversial tweets had not been written by Kayaalp.
"They are not a racist statement by our kid," Yerlikaya insisted.
"There are some tweets posted by second or third persons so that is
not certain, either."
http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/wrestling/1015545-ban-for-wrestler-accused-of-racism-delayed-until-after-world-championships
From: A. Papazian
Insidethegames.biz
Aug 14 2013
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
By Nick Butler
August 14 - The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
(FILA) has postponed the ban issued against Rıza Kayaalp, the Turkish
wrestler accused of making racist comments on Twitter, until after
next month's World Championships pending a review into the decision.
FILA issued Kayaalp with a six-month ban last week after comments were
posted to the wrestler's Twitter account which strongly criticised
Armenians and Greeks and blamed them for the anti-Government protests
which broke out in Turkey earlier this year.
However, after the Turkish Wrestling Federation (TGF) appealed the
decision, FILA ruled to postpone the case, leaving Kayaalp free to
compete at September's FILA World Championships in Budapest.
The announcement also comes a day after TGF chairman Hamza Yerlikaya
defended Kayaalp and vowed to take the "unlawful" ban to the Court
of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the appeal was unsuccessful.
Kayaalp, 23, competes in the Greco-Roman heavyweight division and,
after winning the 2011 world title, won a bronze medal at last summer's
London Olympic Games.
In June, a Twitter account named @rizakayaalpriza, and believed to
belong to the wrestler, launched a string of tweets which consisted
of messages such as: "these are the Armenian and Greek dogs," and
"you just leave the streets to Armenians, you f**ing looters" and
"F**k you traitors".
These tweets were hastily deleted following the strong reaction to
the comments.
However, Yerlikaya hinted that the TGF would argue that the
controversial tweets had not been written by Kayaalp.
"They are not a racist statement by our kid," Yerlikaya insisted.
"There are some tweets posted by second or third persons so that is
not certain, either."
http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/wrestling/1015545-ban-for-wrestler-accused-of-racism-delayed-until-after-world-championships
From: A. Papazian