A new case has just arrived at the offices of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. And it’s not a small one. According to a source within the jurisdiction, the two Kuwaiti brothers, Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah and Talal Fahad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, have lodged a formal complaint against the IOC with the CAS. It concerns the body’s decision to annul the recent elections for the presidency of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). “We confirm that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has registered the following proceedings: CAS 2023/A/9904 Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Sabah v International Olympic Committee, and CAS 2023/A/9931 Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah v International Olympic Committee“, said the source in Lausanne. The facts date back to last July. Meeting in Bangkok to elect a new president following the forced departure of Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, who had been convicted by the Swiss courts of forgery in his own country, the OCA General Assembly had tilted in favor of the Kuwaiti leader’s younger brother, Talal Fahad. He had beaten another Kuwaiti, Husain Al-Musallam, Chairman of World Aquatics (and OCA CEO), by 24 votes to 20. But the day after the vote, the IOC announced that it would not recognize the result of the vote, due to Sheik Ahmad’s presence in Bangkok. Suspended from his IOC membership, Thomas Bach’s former ally is banned from all activities within the Olympic movement for a period of three years. He should therefore not have attended the OCA General Assembly in Bangkok to support his brother’s bid.
