Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul.-Aug. 2014 | Seite 243

Interview
until the tribunal decided. And he
was granted that, without our
lawyers even being asked for any
data, explanations or information.
He then said that he was still the
secretary general and had no option
but to ask the members of the EC
for a postal vote, a measure for
which provision is made under the
Statutes. This was done and my
decision was ratified by 16 votes to
one. I didn't vote even though I
could have done, so it would have
been 17–1. And there were three
other people didn’t vote either. He
was therefore off as WKF General
Secretary and also the European
General Secretary, where there are
ten people on the EC and the vote
was 7–1.”
So there’s no decision still pending
by the Lausanne court of arbitration or
anything is, there?
“No,
nothing
at
all.
An
investigation was launched and it’s
been suspended. He’s appealed, and
once the internal appeal has been
heard, it’ll also be heard before the
court of sports arbitration in
Lausanne.”
Have you seen each other again?
Because it’s quite sad to think that
you’d been friends, so the situation....
“We’ve seen each other once,
because he also holds a position at
SportAccord and he showed up at
the Combat Games, wanting to
represent karate. I had him thrown
out straight away.”
You’re
Vice-president
of
SportAccord as well.
“Yes, but most of all I’m the
President of the World Karate
Federation where he is no longer
welcome. We haven't spoken since,
nor has he ever told my why he did
what he did. What’s would he have
to say to me, anyway?”
George Yerolimpos was also a
strong defender of the campaign The K
is on the Way, which had its big
moment on 7 October 2012 with the
celebration of World Karate Day, d Y