Minster threatens IABA with “immediate and severe financial consequences”

Minster for Spork Jack Chambers has threatened boxing with “immediate and severe financial consequences” if they don’t reform as set out in the McNiece report.

The goverment minster warned there will be a price to be paid if the IABA do not implement recommendations from an independent report following the resignation of High Performance Unit director Bernard Dunne.

In what has been a very successful year for Irish boxing in the ring with numerous medals won on the International stage – including two Women’s World Championships medals – there has been more turmoil at management and board level.

Dunne stepped down from his role as HP director last week.

The Dubliner lodged a complaint with IABA CEO Fergal Carruth in November with reference to an unsigned document calling for his immediate resignation, which was circulated at board level before a successful Olympic Games.

The former world champion argued the SWOT analysis, which went public, was shared to deliberately discredit him.

There was meant to be a hearing into his complaint last week but that was postponed and it’s understood that Dunne then decided it was time to resign.

The resignation shone spotlight back on the IABA and amateur boxing and it has captured theattention of the Minister who came out with a strong warning.

Mr Chambers said the sport was in a mess and called for a Dunne return.

“I would love to see the door open for Bernard Dunne to return,” Mr Chambers said on Today with Claire Byrne.

He also said the person that circulated the anonymous memo before Tokyo 2020 “should be gone,” the Minister said.

“The anonymous and malicious document, right before the Olympics, undermining Bernard Dunne’s performance unit was frankly a disgrace. They [the author(s)] need to be isolated and removed from running boxing.

The Minister said boxing faces a choice to make next month about its future and warned there will be financial consequences that will affect IABA’s core funding if they do not reform as set out in the McNiece report.

“It’s clear there are very serious issues in boxing and it’s a mess, quite frankly.

“You have this constant internal conflict which is undermining boxing, overall. I’m very clear, as Minister for Sport, about what I want to see happen. There’s going to be an EGM next month where there will be an opportunity for boxing as an organisation to fully embrace the recommendations that have been set out in the independent review.

“I’ve been very clear that we can’t, and won’t, fund behaviour like this and governance dysfunction. I want to see boxing fully adopt and embrace all the recommendations in the McNiece review.

“I’m clear we won’t be seeing this constant continuity of battles and internal conflicts being fought,” Minister Chambers said.