In two incendiary letters, ski stars such as Marco Odermatt and Mikaela Shiffrin attack the world federation FIS and President Eliasch. The latter is now responding - with clear accusations against the athletes.
13.12.2024, 07:02
13.12.2024, 07:50
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- The next chapter in the dispute over the entry of investors into skiing: FIS President Johan Eliasch responds to a second incendiary letter from the athletes and makes serious accusations.
- Eliasch says: "I do not believe that these letters were written by athletes, but by someone else whose interests do not correspond to their interests or those of the FIS."
- The FIS President also reports on conversations with athletes: "Some didn't even know that their names had been put under the letters."
In the fierce dispute over a possible investor involvement, World Ski Federation boss Johan Eliasch has accused the athletes of allowing themselves to be instrumentalized for sporting political purposes. Following two published letters of protest from the athletes, Eliasch said: "I don't believe that these letters were written by athletes, but by someone else whose interests do not correspond to their interests or those of the FIS." In an interview with the German Press Agency, the official said: "These letters are simply not to be taken seriously."
"Every insider knows who wrote them"
Eliasch reported that he had spoken to athletes himself. "Some didn't even know that their names had been put under the letters," he said. Others did not understand what they were signing, the FIS boss claimed, without naming names. "Still others said: I did it because I was urged to, but I don't even know what it's about."
The background to the dispute is an offer from the financial company CVC, which wanted to invest 400 million euros in the FIS. In two letters, the athletes accused the federation of rejecting the offer without consulting them. When asked who wrote the letters if not the athletes, Eliasch replied: "I won't speculate on that, but I think every insider knows exactly who wrote them - and it certainly wasn't the Athletes' Commission."
71 signatures
According to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and "Blick", which first reported on the CVC offer, 71 athletes have signed the second letter - almost twice as many as the first.
The signatories include several top stars. Among others, Mikaela Shiffrin, her fiancé and former overall World Cup winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde as well as several Swiss athletes such as Michelle Gisin and Gino Caviezel shared the letter on social media. Given the uproar surrounding the case, it's hard to imagine that athletes don't know what they've signed.
