Sam Soliman vindicated of cheating by German court
Posted: 18 Oct 2016, 16:05
SAM SOLIMAN VINDICATED OF CHEATING CLAIM BY GERMAN COURT
http://www.boxingtalk.com/pag/article.php?aid=30699
Former IBF middleweight champion Sam Soliman has won a longstanding legal battle against one of Germany’s boxing commissions, the BDB. A German District Court in Kiel issued a ruling saying that the BDB's nine-month suspension, along with the disqualification of Soliman against Felix Sturm in 2013, was unlawful and ineffective.
Soliman won the 2013 bout via unanimous decision (in Sturm's home nation, no easy feat) but the result was changed froma Soliman win to a no contest after Soliman tested positive for a stimulant. Soliman consistently maintained his innocence and then won a 2014 rematch against Sturm which was not the subject of the lawsuit.
Soliman's American attorney, Kurt Emhoff, told Boxingtalk, “I’m so happy that Sam has been vindicated - it’s a great victory for him. All of Team Soliman is very proud of the tireless work that Sam’s German counsel Rainer Cherkeh put into this case and we’re very happy with the result.”
Soliman's legal situation highlights a key difference between the administration of boxing in the Uniteed States and Germany. In the United States, boxing commissions are run by state governments. In Germany, commissions are private federations hired by the local promoter, who pays the commission a fee. Because there are multiple private federations that promoters can choose to hire, a commission may be tempted to curry favor with its paying customers (the promoters) by issuing favorable rulings to the promoter's boxer. In this case, the promoter's boxer was Sturm, who was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina but has lived in Germany for many years and even adopted Sturm as his German stage name. Soliman is Australian.
The BDB has one month to appeal the German District Court decision.
“The German court agreed that I was punished without judicial basis for something that I was not guilty of,” Soliman said. “The unlawful decision by the German Boxing Commission cost me a shot at a world title and immense reputational damage. The decision by the German court has lifted a weight from my shoulders that I’ve had to live with for nearly four years. I was never going to give up seeking to right the injustice,” Soliman said.
“I’ve spent my whole career committed to clean and healthy living, and the German Boxing Commission’s unlawful decision hit hard.”
Commenting on the BDB’s handling of the 2013 dispute, Soliman’s manager, David Stanley said: “It is obvious that a sport association whose President, Thomas Putz, has a commercial involvement with one participant of a boxing match is not objective. There was and is a deep conflict of interest for the BDB.”
Soliman’s German lawyer, Rainer Cherkeh said:
“Sports associations have a large responsibility to act in accordance with the main principles and rules of law. The court decision made clear that the BDB failed in this central point. Above all this is an important judgment for our client Sam Soliman and his reputation," Cherkeh said.
http://www.boxingtalk.com/pag/article.php?aid=30699
Former IBF middleweight champion Sam Soliman has won a longstanding legal battle against one of Germany’s boxing commissions, the BDB. A German District Court in Kiel issued a ruling saying that the BDB's nine-month suspension, along with the disqualification of Soliman against Felix Sturm in 2013, was unlawful and ineffective.
Soliman won the 2013 bout via unanimous decision (in Sturm's home nation, no easy feat) but the result was changed froma Soliman win to a no contest after Soliman tested positive for a stimulant. Soliman consistently maintained his innocence and then won a 2014 rematch against Sturm which was not the subject of the lawsuit.
Soliman's American attorney, Kurt Emhoff, told Boxingtalk, “I’m so happy that Sam has been vindicated - it’s a great victory for him. All of Team Soliman is very proud of the tireless work that Sam’s German counsel Rainer Cherkeh put into this case and we’re very happy with the result.”
Soliman's legal situation highlights a key difference between the administration of boxing in the Uniteed States and Germany. In the United States, boxing commissions are run by state governments. In Germany, commissions are private federations hired by the local promoter, who pays the commission a fee. Because there are multiple private federations that promoters can choose to hire, a commission may be tempted to curry favor with its paying customers (the promoters) by issuing favorable rulings to the promoter's boxer. In this case, the promoter's boxer was Sturm, who was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina but has lived in Germany for many years and even adopted Sturm as his German stage name. Soliman is Australian.
The BDB has one month to appeal the German District Court decision.
“The German court agreed that I was punished without judicial basis for something that I was not guilty of,” Soliman said. “The unlawful decision by the German Boxing Commission cost me a shot at a world title and immense reputational damage. The decision by the German court has lifted a weight from my shoulders that I’ve had to live with for nearly four years. I was never going to give up seeking to right the injustice,” Soliman said.
“I’ve spent my whole career committed to clean and healthy living, and the German Boxing Commission’s unlawful decision hit hard.”
Commenting on the BDB’s handling of the 2013 dispute, Soliman’s manager, David Stanley said: “It is obvious that a sport association whose President, Thomas Putz, has a commercial involvement with one participant of a boxing match is not objective. There was and is a deep conflict of interest for the BDB.”
Soliman’s German lawyer, Rainer Cherkeh said:
“Sports associations have a large responsibility to act in accordance with the main principles and rules of law. The court decision made clear that the BDB failed in this central point. Above all this is an important judgment for our client Sam Soliman and his reputation," Cherkeh said.