Panel member who ruled on Jordan Chiles appeal has history of representing Romania in legal cases
The U.S. Olympic team's efforts to reclaim the bronze medal that Jordan Chiles thought she had won during the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics are encountering some increasingly bizarre obstacles, and a new twist in the ongoing saga emerged Tuesday.
Related video above: Simone Biles triumphs in historic showdown with Suni Lee at Paris Olympics
The head of the three-person panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which ruled that the USA바카라 게임 웹사이트s initial inquiry over Chiles바카라 게임 웹사이트 floor exercise score was filed after the one-minute deadline and awarded third place to Romanian Ana Bǎrbosu on Saturday, has been representing Romanian interests for years.
Dr. Hamid G. Gharavi, Philippe Sands and Song Lu sat on the panel, of which Gharavi was the president, according to CAS. Gharavi바카라 게임 웹사이트s resume, linked on CAS바카라 게임 웹사이트 website, lists multiple legal cases in which he has represented Romania in arbitration cases.
The International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution was the first to report on the legal ties Gharavi has with Romania.
In response to an inquiry for comment, Gharavi referred CNN to CAS. CNN has reached out to CAS about a possible conflict of interest within the panel.
In a statement given to the New York Times, CAS said: 바카라 게임 웹사이트In accordance with the guidelines on conflicts of interest issued by the International Bar Association (IBA), CAS has no reason to remove an arbitrator making such disclosure if the parties do not object to his/her appointment.바카라 게임 웹사이트
What was praised as one of the best-ever Olympic Games has been tarnished by confusion, heartbreak and allegations of incompetence leveled against the governing bodies involved.
Initially, Bǎrbosu thought she had the medal until the U.S. team successfully appealed the judge바카라 게임 웹사이트s scoring of Chiles바카라 게임 웹사이트 routine, elevating the American from fifth place up to third and into an instantly iconic image of the first-ever all-black podium in Olympic gymnastics. Chiles held the medal for just five days before CAS awarded it to Bǎrbosu.
Complicating matters, the communication ahead of the court바카라 게임 웹사이트s decision was flawed.
According to CNN바카라 게임 웹사이트s contributor , CAS notified the wrong U.S. officials of the hearing on Saturday.
The U.S. team now says they have video evidence that their appeal was lodged well within the designated 60-second window 바카라 게임 웹사이트 but U.S. Gymnastics says CAS informed them that, according to its own rules, the decision cannot be reconsidered 바카라 게임 웹사이트even when conclusive new evidence is presented.바카라 게임 웹사이트
On Monday, USA Gymnastics said it would 바카라 게임 웹사이트continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal process, including to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the just scoring, placement, and medal award for Jordan.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Meanwhile, Chiles has removed herself from social media, posting four broken-hearted emojis after Saturday바카라 게임 웹사이트s CAS ruling. Both she and Bǎrbosu are now in limbo, caught in the middle of a highly emotional fiasco wrought upon them by one of the most significant sports competitions in the world.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee seems to be running out of options, but said they will work 바카라 게임 웹사이트diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.바카라 게임 웹사이트
It바카라 게임 웹사이트s hard to know what a fair resolution would look like, but if anyone thinks this will be settled swiftly, they should be reminded of another scene at the Paris Games this summer.
Two days after the conclusion of the gymnastics competition, nine American figure skaters stepped into the sunshine beneath the Eiffel Tower to be presented with their gold medals from the team event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
They바카라 게임 웹사이트d been waiting for them for two and a half years.