Κείμενα

19/5/2004: Ανακοίνωση της Διεθνούς Ομοσπονδίας Χόκεϋ (FIH) για την απόφαση του Διεθνούς Αθλητικού Δικαστηρίου (CAS).

Hellenic Hockey Federation Appeal Dismissed by CAS.
South Africa’s participation as twelfth qualified nation confirmed.
The International Hockey Federation gives notice of the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision regarding participation of the Greek men’s hockey team at the 2004 Olympic Games, as follows:
QUOTE
The Court of Arbitration for Sport pronounces:
The Court of Arbitration for Sports has jurisdiction to hear the appeal filed on 17 February 2004 by Hellenic Hockey Federation.
The appeal filed by the Hellenic Hockey Federation is admissable.*
The appeal filed by the Hellenic Hockey Federation is dismissed.
The Hellenic Hockey Federation shall bear 50% of the costs of this arbitration and the Federation Internationale de Hockey and South African Hockey Association shall bear 25% of such costs, the amount of which is to be determined and served by the Secretary General of CAS.l
Each party shall bear its own costs.
Done in Lausanne, 19 May 2004
UNQUOTE

*Note: point 2 means that HHF’s appeal met technical considerations regarding time limits for appeals according to FIH Statutes.

The full text of the award will follow from CAS 'as soon as possible'. However a letter from CAS accompanying the decision reads as follows:
'The Panel understands the Olympic Qualification Criteria as allowing the FIH to maintain its qualification decision.'
'The Panel notes that this leads to the exceptional situation that the host country in a team event cannot participate in the Olympic Games.'
As a result of the decision, FIH confirms South Africa’s participation in the 2004 Olympic Games as twelfth qualified nation.

5/5/2004: Δελτίο τύπου της Ελληνική Ομοσπονδίας Χόκεϋ (HHF).

The Hellenic Hockey Federation hereby addresses the sporting world in denouncing the unfavourable treatment it has received from the International Hockey Federation. Such a treatment is opposite to the principles binding the sporting spirit and fair play and the Hellenic Hockey Federation thereby seeks the support of the sporting world in redressing the grievance suffered thereby.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is the only International Federation that for the first time in the history of Olympic Games has imposed qualification criteria on the team of the organizing country and has in particular done so without the consent of the Greek Olympic Committee.

The Hellenic Hockey Federation has paid due respect to the decisions of the International Federation, according to which it was bound to play with the twelfth team that qualified on the basis of the worldwide ranking system, i.e. with Cuba and therefore prepared the Greek national hockey team upgrading its contesting capacity at a high level and arrived in Madrid in order to play the game.

Following thereafter the refusal of Cuba to participate in this game with the Greek team, the International Hockey Federation has, instead of applying the general principle of automatic qualification, imposed to our country the obligation to play with another team, namely the team of Canada that is far more powerful than Cuba and is classified much higher in the world classification.

The Hellenic Hockey Federation having considered the decision of the International Federation to be unfair and harmful for the Greek team has resorted to the CAS that is the responsible athletic court of the International Olympic Committee so as to redress the grievance suffered thereby.

The International Hockey Federation although having initially declared its approval of the right of Greece to resort in the jurisdictional body of the IOC and having asked for the matter to be judged upon its merits, has subsequently posed via its attorney various procedural objections thereby reversing its initial statements and attempting to close the matter in a brief procedure at the expense of the interests of the Greek team.

This discriminatory behaviour of the International Federation against Greece aims at exerting all means possible at depriving the Greek national hockey team of the right to participate in the Olympic Games of Athens, such behaviour thereby violating the fixed customary principle of the automatic qualification of teams of the organizing country and in the same time depriving Greek sports fans of the possibility and the joy to admire their national team in the Olympic Games, and therefore leads to an attitude not consistent with the principles of fair play of the Olympic ideal.

From the Press Office of H.H.F.

6/5/2004: Δελτίο τύπου της Διεθνούς Ομοσπονδίας Χόκεϋ (FIH).

The FIH acknowledges receipt of yesterday’s statement from the Hellenic Hockey Federation (HHF), regarding Olympic Qualification.

FIH maintains its position that the Hellenic Olympic Committee and HHF had accepted that Greece would not qualify automatically. However, it will take issue with this and other allegations contained in the statement via what its statutes define as the appropriate channel, chosen by the HHF, that is, the Court of Arbitration in Sports (CAS).

FIH has full confidence in CAS to issue a swift decision which must be accepted by all parties and regrets HHF’s actions to pursue the matter otherwise.

In the meantime, in advance of the meeting of CAS on Wednesday 19 May, FIH refers to its earlier press release, issued on 20 February 20004 , requoted below:


FIH News Release: Greece to Contest Olympic Qualifying Procedure at CAS

20 Feb 2004

The Hellenic Hockey Federation has submitted a dispute to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) 17 February 2004, concerning the qualification of the Greek Men’s team to the XXVII Olympic Games, reports the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Greece, the host nation of the XXVII Olympic Games, was required to meet the qualification criteria set out by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The first option for Greece to gain a place at the Olympics was by qualifying for the European Nations Cup, held in 2003. Greece did not qualify for this tournament but there was a second opportunity for Greece to qualify for the Olympics.

This required Greece to beat the 12th qualified team of the Men’s Olympic Qualifier in a best of three play-off competition. Canada, the 12th qualified team at the Qualifiers, would keep its place in the Qualifier regardless of whether it won or lost against Greece, but there would be six places at stake at the Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Madrid if Greece qualified, rather than seven.

Greece participated under protest in the Men’s Qualifying Play-Off Competition held 18 and 19 February in Madrid.

The results of the play-off are:
18.02.04 Match 1: Canada 7 Greece 1
19.02.04 Match 2: Greece 1 Canada 3
21.02.04 Match 3: Following the FIH Tournament Regulations, as the same team won the first two matches, it was not compulsory to play the third match.
The teams have agreed not to play the final match.

For further information on the qualification procedures for the Olympics and detailed reports from the play-off series, see www.worldhockey.org.