The Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has unanimously recommended that Ivan Slavkov, chairman of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, be expelled.
IOC President Jacques Rogge said, “we have decided that Slavkov’s membership should be frozen until the session in Singapore in July next year”.
He added, “there is zero tolerance for unethical behaviour in the IOC and today’s decision reinforces this position”.
Slavkov has been suspended from the IOC since August 7 after being implicated in a BBC television investigation into alleged corruption in the bid city process. Rogge said the executive board found Slavkov has “not abided by the Olympic charter and he has tarnished the image of the International Olympic Committee”.
A final decision goes to the full IOC generally assembly which meeting in July in Singapore. A two-thirds vote of the 100-plus members is required for expulsion.
Rogge said Slavkov will be able to defend himself at the IOC session in July.
“If Mr. Slavkov were to be expelled he cannot function any more as president of his national Olympic Committee…”
London 2012 officials played down the importance of Slavkov’s possible expulsion, saying it was unlikely to affect their bid.
Meanwhile, the IOC will continue the suspension of South Korean vice president Kim Un-yong pending an appeal against a 30-month prison sentence for embezzlement and bribery.
