IOC bans Kuwait

DUBAI: The International Olympic Committee has suspended Kuwait for the second time in five years over government interference in the country’s Games committee.

The IOC said on Tuesday it met the government and the Kuwait Olympic Committee on October 12 to resolve the issue over a piece of sports legislation that was seen as threatening the autonomy of the Olympic body but the talks proved fruitless.

“The Olympic Movement in Kuwait has faced a number of issues to preserve its autonomy, in particular due to recently amended sports legislation in Kuwait,” the IOC added.

It said an October 27 deadline was set at this month’s meeting “to resolve the issues at hand or, at least, freeze the application of the conflictive provisions of the sports legislation until a reasonable and mutually acceptable solution could be found”.