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 Vizer, who heads the international judo federation and the umbrella
body SportAccord, which has about 100 sports federations as members,
had accused the IOC of being dated, blocking new events and lacking
transparency among other things.
Since Vizer's scathing attack at the SportAccord convention in
Sochi, which he said was probably "too shocking" for the IOC, over a
dozen Olympic federations, including athletics, boxing, fencing,
archery, taekwondo, triathlon, hockey and wrestling, have left,
saying his comments did not represent them.
"I had expected more solidarity from international federations,
specifically from summer Olympics federations, because I spoke out
in the favor of the sport," Vizer told Reuters in an interview.
"I did not attack (IOC president Thomas) Bach or the IOC."
"But it is up to the federations to decide what they consider the
best for their situation and their sports community," said Vizer.
SportAccord, which also hosts smaller multi-sports events like the
World Combat Games, is not hugely important for major sports such as
athletics, whose financial dependence on the Olympics and their
promotion through them is critical.
But for smaller federations and especially those who are not part of
the Olympics, SportAccord is key to generating new revenue streams,
showcasing the sport and increasing participation.
IOC PRESSURE
The sudden exodus of federations in recent weeks, however, was not
because of what he said but because of IOC pressure, Vizer added.
"That is my opinion and I am really convinced of that," he said,
adding it was only following a coffee break long after his speech
that federations started to oppose his comments once they had
discussions with the IOC.
"What I expressed with my voice was the long-time opinion of my
colleagues. It was never clearly expressed at an important occasion.
I did it and probably it was too shocking for them (IOC)," he said.
"I was straight and direct and I feel that president Bach has stayed
just behind all the story, in the shadows."
Vizer has written to the IOC chief, asking for a meeting to clear
the air.
"I am open to meeting with president Bach to discuss (things) with
him. Everything I want is for the benefit of sports. Just because
the IOC is the most important sports organization does not mean it
is perfect."
"Things can be changed and values can be increased, transparency can
be adapted," he said.
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"Motivation is if you see sport as a pyramid -- power, money and
control are at the top and the base is the suffering. I came from
the sport, from down up. I know the needs of the sport exactly."
NO PUNISHMENT
Vizer said he would urge Bach to allow people to speak up instead of
fearing punishment.
"In the international sports movement and Olympic movement everybody
is free to speak and if somebody has a voice he should not be
punished, he should be listened to."
"They (IOC) did not analyze my proposals but just took measures to
punish me because I expressed a voice on behalf of me and millions
of sports people."
But it is not only SportAccord membership that has been affected.
The World Combat Games 2017 in Lima, Peru, have been left with just
one Olympic federation -- judo -- after the other five pulled out of
the event, which includes 10 non-Olympic sports such as karate,
aikido and kick boxing.
Vizer said it would not be a problem to replace them with more
federations waiting to get in.
"I hope the pressure will not continue because I have felt it for
more than one year since Bach has been president (since 2013). The
World Combat Games are a complementary event. It just creates
additional benefits," he said.
"We have the opportunity to replace those federations with others
which have sent in applications. We will have the number of
federations, no doubt, but I regret the decisions to withdraw."
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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