The Norwegian sport will be club thick these days. Now a former boss boss is being pulled out of circulation forever.
Former IBU President Anders Besseberg (79) has been blocked by the International Sports Court CAS for all official offices within biathlon sports. This was announced by the Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) according to the CAS’s verdict.
In the judgment, serious violations of the integrity of sport are recorded, Besseberg should “behave unethical over a longer period of time”.
Serious allegations against ex-boss boss
“This decision sends the clear message that unethical behavior is not tolerated at the highest level of sport,” said Greg McKenna as head of the BIU: “We have drawn the teachings from this case and will further improve the control mechanisms in cooperation with the IBU to prevent repeating such behavior.”
The CAS judgment also underlines concern that such unethical behavior has been approved for so long without intervention. The verdict is the next devastating headline for the winter sports nation Norway.
Besseberg, who always denied the allegations against himself, is said to have been bribed by Russian officials through money, luxury watches, hunting excursions and prostitutes. The CAS saw these allegations in relation to watches, hunting excursions and the provision of prostitution services as justified and regarded them as violations of integrity. The Norwegian also failed to prevent or prevent unethical practices.
Guilty in almost all charges
The now 79-year-old was sentenced to three years and one month in prison in his Norwegian homeland in the spring of 2024.
The judge at the Buskerud district court found him guilty in nine out of ten charges in the period from 2009 to 2018. Besseberg had led the IBU biathlon association from the foundation in 1993, and he resigned in 2018 after investigating an external investigation commission.