The Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was left with no option but to provisionally suspend the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) due to their ongoing in-fighting. An ad-hoc commission has also been established by the FIVB to address and resolve the dispute between the two warring factions of VFI, president Chaudhary Avadhesh Kumar and secretary general Ramavtar Singh Jakhar
The Ad-hoc commission appointed by FIVB will liaise with both parties to discuss the way forward. The FIVB board of administration issued the ruling in a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday.
FIVB general director Fabio Azevado after the decision was confirmed said, “upon the request of AVC and pursuant to articles 16.1.1 (C), 17.2 and 19.1 of the FIVB Disciplinary Regulations, the FIVB Board of Administration took the decision to provisionally suspend the Volleyball Federation of India until this dispute is solved."
"The FIVB determined that the Volleyball Federation of India is unable to properly govern and administer the sport of volleyball in India due to the present dispute. This dispute has been ongoing since early 2016 without any resolution in sight. The present dispute in India now qualifies as an urgent matter requiring swift and immediate action given that this dispute has had an impact on the Volleyball Federation of India's ability to organise volleyball competitions," said the statement.
Games moved out of India
The provisional suspension will make it difficult for the players to participate in Asian and international events. According to The Times of India, following the suspension decision, the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) decided to relocate the 2018 Women's World Championship qualification tournament from India.
Due to the internal tangle in VFI, Azevado said, “There is a question as to how the VFI will register and select teams to participate in future tournaments in light of dispute."
Asian Volleyball Confederation’s position
When it was brought to the notice of AVC secretary general Shanrit Wongprasert, that the Madras High Court had appointed an arbitrator to give instructions to both factions, Wongprasert made it clear that AVC and FIVB will only communicate with a national federation which has the backing of its National Olympic Committee (NOC), in India's case the IOA.
In an e-mail to The Times of India, the AVC secretary general emphasised on the fact that the VFI won’t be allowed to participate in games: "AVC and FIVB will not allow VFI to conduct or participate any international event without the approval of Indian Olympic Association."
