On Saturday, FINA announced that they would be fining and suspending the Mexican Swimming Federation for “not fulfilling contractual obligations concerning the cancellation of the 2017 FINA World Championships in Guadalajara.”
FINA fined the Mexican Swimming Federation $5 million for withdrawing themselves from hosting duties, and all Mexican swimmers are currently banned from competing in FINA competition. The Mexican Swimming Federation is now lashing out over the fine and the subsequent suspension of its athletes.
“[FINA] know that we cannot pay this amount,” said president of the Mexican Swimming Federation Kiril Todorov, “What do they gain from suspending us? Nothing. We cannot pay it. They are putting pressure on the Mexican government through Mexican athletes, this is what FINA is doing.”
FINA announced Mexico’s suspension following a bureau meeting that took place before Sunday’s gala. FINA has not responded to three requests for comment on what the suspension means, though Todorov’s comments appear to clarify the other piece of the mystery: that the suspension came from Mexico’s failure to pay the fine related to pulling out of their hosting duty.
While there was controversy earlier this year over the Mexican Swimming Federation’s falsification of entry times and entering unqualified swimmers in FINA’s meets, the international governing body deemed those infractions insignificant.
The 2017 FINA World Championships have since been awarded to Budapest, which was originally going to play host to the championships in 2019.
Where does Fina expect the money to come from? Doesn’t USA swimming only get like 2 million in funding I can’t imagine Mexico gets much more
Hold on there. A Federation signed a contract with FINA and knew all these rules, demands and fees. They canceled a previous signed contract to host 2017 Worlds. They MUST pay.
Yes, obviously. But the sad thing about it is, that the athletes were suspended for the mistakes of their federation as well.
The other problem here is the hypocrisy. FINA seems to have no problem bending sporting rules, such as ignoring the falsification of entry times for World Championships; shortening doping bans to allow big stars to participate in marquee competitions; and inviting Michael Phelps to compete in WC’s, overruling the restriction placed on Phelps by USA Swimming. In the latter case, the FINA president said “We can do what we want.” But when it comes to collecting money, FINA shows absolutely no flexibility.
The flexibility on the sporting rules, combined with the inflexibility when it comes to collecting money, is further evidence that FINA’s primary concern is lining the pockets of FINA officials.
ANAPAULA- FMN and Mexico made an effort to promote the sport of swimming by bidding to host the 2017 WC in Guadalajara. They have been pursuing this in the past couple of years by building a brand new facility and hosting the Pan American Games in 2011. For reason x or y they where not able to follow through with their promise, and had to default for 2017. While I understand that contract agreements should be met, sometimes it is just simply not possible to do it. The USD has appreciated against the MXP by over 30% in the last couple years. The budget does not cut it anymore, and while we all would like that swimming got more funding,… Read more »
Yeah, punish the athletes for the administration’s errors. Makes sense. It’s not like they might retire by the time another opportunity comes around.
FINA, FIFA – same ossified criminals in charge. Jail them and start over.