Here’s the letter that was sent to the Lebanese Basketball Federation by the FIBA explaining the reasons behind the suspension:
Dear Mr. President,
Dear Mr. Secretary General,We acknowledge receipt of the documents and information requested in our email of 16 July 2013 following your request to reconsider the suspension of your federation. This information undoubtedly allows us to shed more light on the current situation in Lebanon. Thank you for your cooperation in submitting this information promptly.
At the outset, we wish to reiterate that the suspension of your federation has not been a decision taken hastily by FIBA. It was indeed approved by the FIBA Central Board due to events of the utmost gravity whereby one club has been able, with external political support, to disrupt entirely the smooth running of the Lebanese National Championship. It has also been able to obtain a decision by a state civil court cancelling technical and sporting decisions taken by your federation.
This scenario represents without any doubt the most serious violation of the FIBA General Statutes and all principles under which the Olympic sports movement is founded. Despite the financial impact or political intersts that sport generate, it is clear that it must remain at all costs a competition whereby merit, integrity and fair play prevail.
This matter demonstrates a profound dysfunction of the Lebanese Basketball Federation since one club alone has been able to stop your championship. In complete violation of the FIBA General Statutes and the obligations of all national member federations of FIBA, your federation was not and still is not properly armed to face political interferences and solve sporting disputes within its own structures.
The FIBA Central Board was therefore of the firm belief that the Lebanese Basketball family must now assume the consequences of its organizational deficiencies and actions. For as long as key governance principles are not implemented in the statutes of your federation and in the latter’s policies and managament, and approved/agreed to by all stakeholders it shall not be readmitted with full rights with FIBA and be allowed to participate in the most important international basketball competitions.
The letter is very clear and the reasons for the suspension are two:
– One club has been able, with external political support, to disrupt entirely the smooth running of the Lebanese National Championship.
– The Federation was not and still is not properly armed to face political interferences and solve sporting disputes within its own structures.
I think at this point, the real problem is not the suspension itself but the way the Lebanese Federation and concerned teams dealt with the FIBA warnings, and the way a lot of fans are reacting to this decision by blaming either Amchit or the Federation. Having said that, I recommend that everyone re-reads the statement issued by FIBA and understand that both the team and the federation are the problem, but the one to get the bigger blame is always the person in charge and that’s the Federation in that case.
There’s nothing political about it, and it saddens me to read some of the comments on the various Lebanese Basketball Facebook pages, but the fact that one team was able to disrupt the whole season is a clear proof the current Federation was unable to assume its responsibilities (Without mentioning the financial scandal). Lebanon is not the only country where political parties try to influence sports teams or invest money in sports to gain popularity, but that’s where the Federation plays its role in keeping the sport and the teams away from such considerations. President Choueiri succeeded in doing that in tougher days and with Sagesse Team against all odds, not because he poured money or was politically powerful but because he was able to find a compromise between all parties while focusing on improving the sport and helping Lebanon win international tournaments and even qualify for the World Cup.
Unfortunately though, We will never have someone like Choueiri again, which is why it’s time to elect a new federation and come up with new bylaws that prevent incidents like the ones that happened this year and the years before. In order to make that happen, all teams should sit down, propose new ideas and figure a way out of this mess once and for all. I hear some teams are considering launching the Super League but I don’t have a lot of details on it yet.
I’ve already posted several times on how politics should be kept away from sports in Lebanon, and even proposed some ideas to make this happen.
I cannot believe you continue to put an entire federation at par with 1 single club who has no major historical background and who happened to be playing in 1st division for the 1st time since ages… this club’s only powerful card is the fact the it is related to the PRESIDENT!
Both Amshit and the president are to blame, their interference and negative contribution resulted in this 4 years ban… PERIOD!
I can’t believe you still want us to believe this single club with no major history nor known influence was able to mess all this up and only him.
The Federation failed in dealing with the Amchit-Champville series and its decisions led us here. They are the ones responsible for keeping the league ongoing and penalizing the corresponding teams.
If a team does all this mess, this team must be penalized but that also means the federation’s doing it wrong. Period!
PS: The Financial scandal is probably the most shameful we’ve ever heard of in basketball history yet you chose to ignore it.
Amshit is nothing without the full back up of the president!
The scandal is in this negative abuse of power!
The scandal of the federation is not there to ignore, if it is true I will be among the first to call for a full investigation… corruption should be fought!
however till now it is just rumors and speculations, if there is truly a scandal why Amshit and the PRESIDENT with all their powers and might are not flashing it out in justice? they just abused the judges to rush a crippling decision against the federation after a game, and they cannot take the entire federation to court because of money scandal?
http://www.sports-leb.com/sports/MoreNews.aspx?newsid=278640
I can’t believe that you couldn’t understand the letter of the FIBA. The serious problem is the political support of the team and not the federation itself which represents the most serious violation of the FIBA.
The federation failed, that’s true as pointed by the letter but the reason for its failure is that it is not immune to major political influence. There are no efficient rules or dispute resolution mechanism.
Back to your lovely Choueiri, if he cared much about the federation, he should have thought about setting up all those missing policies stated by FIBA, instead of turning it into a one man show business, because, you may see clearly the result thereof.
Najib, if you wanna preach for integrity and long term success, stop glorifying individuals as we need to build or re-build all our institutions based on rules and regulations and not on the ego of some individuals.
individuals, whether you like it or not, are what an organization is built on.
individuals can build an institution that is fair, accountable, etc., or they can build an institution which is a gigantic pile of turd, much like most things here.
the disease you see in the organization is a symptom of the people in it. you can extend that to the country if you wish.
Razor,
I stated the two problems as raised by the FIBA. While the serious problem is what one team did, the real problem is the incompetence and inability of the federation to do anything about it. Remember they stopped the federation not the team.
There are a lot of efficient mechanisms to make compromises on several levels and be able to penalize those who go wrong. Remember the reason Amchit won its lawsuit is because the federation screwed up and violated a law by making them lose a game without any referees etc ..
Back to Choueiri, you seem to forget how much he pressed for a Super League where the presence of teams from different Arab countries would kinda tone down the political influence and how much he was fought by many here. It was never a one man show with Choueiri and he barely made a penny out of Basketball. If anything he used to help smaller teams to keep the league ongoing and make it more competitive.
I praised Choueiri but I said we won’t get two Choueiris which is why we shouldn’t rely on individuals.
Reality Check. This is the least of consequences of the corruption in the Lebanese state, which has dissolved in all possible aspects.
As Jim says, extend this farce to country as a whole. Any Lebanese (with very few exceptions) put in a position of power will abuse it shamelessly without even bothering to camouflage it, such is the ego-driven culture. At least in other countries they have the decency to try and cover it up.
All, get your (S) together and go to work. Nothing wrong with electing a new federation and passing reforms inspired from FIBA guidelines. The new federation is to show trasparency and accountability by taking to court all who has violated applicable laws and regulations. This a plan, put to vote and get on with it. We love this game and we have proven potentials and we can sure come back!!!