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France amid a corruption scandal
The president of the France Taekwondo Federation, Roger Piarulli, presented his resignation after being implicated in an embezzlement investigation.
Corruption scandals in sports organizations are not limited to football; after the FIFA case, many investigations have been carried out around the world and on different sports, where Taekwondo has not been exempt.
The Ministry of Sports of France led a thorough investigation of the Taekwondo French Federation which disclosed a series of irregularities relating to the financial aspect, abuse of power, fictitious labor contracts and use of public money for personal purposes.
The now former president of the French Federation of Taekwondo, Mr. Roger Piarulli, who has been allegedly made responsible in this case, not only had a position within the World Taekwondo Federation as member of the Executive Committee but also had been assigned to lead the WTF office in Switzerland.
While Piarulli presented his resignation to the French Federation, it is said that he would have asked the WTF to maintain his position within this institution, however, his colleagues expressed that he no longer represented any of the French Taekwondo Federation interests nor values before any international institution.
The International Referee, Denis Odjo, named acting president, said in his first public letter “I inherited a crisis amid a confrontation atmosphere, but I assume the sacrifice within this context to serve French Taekwondo”.
In a meeting with the Director of the Sports Minister, Odjo expressed the need of changing the National Technical Director and part of the coaching staff too. Although, the national agency would have responded affirmatively, they confirmed that the Taekwondo Federation will remain under investigation.
“It’s important for me to clarify we won´t hide or protect anyone. The institution which I represent today will undergo any financial and administrative investigations and if that’s not enough, we will request the intervention of leading experts in the field. If the corruption is proven, everyone must face the consequences” concluded the acting president.
This case will mark a precedent for all WTF National Association Members which must perform their duties with complete transparency and honesty.
Source: Mastaekwondo
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