LAGOS – Iran Volleyball Federation has been stripped of the right to host the 2015 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Boys’ Under-19 World Championships.
The event will now take place in Argentina instead, according to a sports publication – Insidethegames.
The decision to withdraw the event followed insidethegames’ exclusive story that the FIVB would not award any further events under its sanction to Iran until Ghoncheh Ghavami is released from prison, and an order banning women from attending matches lifted.
Mahmoud Afshardoost, secretary general of the Iranian Volleyball Federation, has confirmed that the FIVB had already informed them of the decision to take the Boys’ Under-19 World Championships away from them.
“We received an email from the FIVB announcing a change of plan,’’ he said.
“We are waiting to find out the real reason (behind the change) and we will then decide what to do.’’
The world governing body made a pledge during a recent meeting with on-Governmental Organisation Human Rights Watch that they would not award events to Iran.
This is because, Ghavami, a 25-year-old Iranian-British law graduate was handed a year’s prison sentence for attending an FIVB World League match in June– between Iran and Italy– because the country imposed a ban on women attending volleyball matches.(NAN)
