Dhe German Ski Association (DSV) and three other national associations are going to the International Sports Court Cas after the controversial election of the world association president Johan Eliasch. According to information from the German Press Agency (dpa), the associations in Austria, Switzerland and Croatia will also file a lawsuit against the election of the FIS head together with the DSV. Previously, the Swiss “Blick” had reported about it.
At the end of May, Eliasch was elected President of the Ski World Association (Fis) for at least another four years. The British-Swedish businessman had no opponent at the Ski Congress in Milan. Eliasch received 100 percent of the votes cast, but not all delegates voted. At the request of delegates, a secret ballot was set by ballot, the required option no as an answer did not exist.
“An election in which the delegates only had one option to cast a valid vote, namely to vote yes, does not correspond to our understanding of the law and is simply a farce,” said Stefan Schwarzbach, board member of the German Ski Association, the ARD said at the time and added: “In the opinion of our legal experts, such an approach is also not compliant with Swiss association law.” The DSV and other nations then did not take part in the election. The associations did not want to give an assessment of the current development.
Since taking office in 2021, Eliasch’s proposals have repeatedly caused irritation and criticism in the ski scene – such as the plan to organize ski races in Dubai, reduce the giant slalom to just one run and centrally market Alpine World Cups. So far, the marketing rights have been held by the national associations in whose areas the World Cups take place.
