AusLeisure

Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck has this week expressed his belief that the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) should remove Russian national Vladimir Lisin as its President, after the country became the first to sanction Russia's richest individual following the war in Ukraine.

A spokesperson for Senator Colbeck told the Inside the Games website that the Australian Government backs strong sporting sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including the removal of Lisin from his position.

The spokesperson advised “the Australian Government supports any decision to ban or remove Russian and Belarusian players, teams or sporting administrators from their roles as part of our continued condemnation of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war against Ukraine.

"In an agreed statement issued last month, Minister Colbeck joined Ministers of Sport from 37 nations across the world, calling for a ban on all individual athletes and teams from Russia and Belarus.

"We implore the International Shooting Sport Federation to take the strongest possible action against Mr Lisin, including removing him from his role as President.

"Australians stand with the people of the Ukraine and our Government will continue to encourage the international sport community to show its solidarity."

Lisin is listed by Forbes as Russia's wealthiest individual, with the latest rankings estimating his worth at US$18.4 billion.

The ISSF President has been a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to attack in Ukraine, highlighting the impact it will have on the country's economy.

However, he faces increasing calls from a number of countries for him and compatriot Alexander Ratner, the ISSF Secretary General, to vacate their posts.

A number of countries' National Federations have called on the pair to step down, while the Ukrainian Shooting Federation has insisted it will refuse financial help from the ISSF if it is provided by Lisin.

Senator Colbeck's stance puts pressure on Shooting Australia President Cath Fettell in her role as a member of the ISSF Development Fund, a Fund established by Lisin in 2018 through an initial US$10 million donation.

The report on the Fund for 2019 to 2021 was presented by Fettell at the last ISSF Executive Committee meeting on 7th March.

A tweet by Inside the Games journalist Duncan Mackay suggest that Fettel is "incredibly close" to Lisin.

In March, Shooting Australia appointed Adam Sachs as its new Chief Executive.

Sachs joined Shooting Australia as its High Performance Director in 2016 and has more than 20 years of senior management experience in sport and high performance.

Main image: Australian Sports Minister Richard Colbeck.

Related Articles

3rd April 2022 - World Skate to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from its competitions

27th March 2022 - Federal Sport Minister appoints new Australian Sports Commission members

25th March 2022 - FINA strips Russian city of Kazan of 25-metre World Swimming Championships

4th March 2022 - ASM Global, Live Nation and Oak View Group pledge to end doing business with Russia

4th March 2022 - Paralympics Australia endorses IPC decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from Beijing Paralympics

2nd March 2022 - FIBA release statement on Russian teams and officials

28th February 2022 - Swimming Australia welcomes FINA decision to cancel Russian-hosted World Junior Championships

27th February 2022 - FINA cancels World Junior Championships in Russia

25th February 2022 - SportAccord cancels World Sport and Business Summit due to have been held in Russia

4th January 2022 - Sport Minister Richard Colbeck makes safety plea after holiday drownings

4th November 2021 - Australian sports make united commitment to tackle online abuse of athletes

3rd May 2021 - Shooting Australia launches its 2021 Come and Try campaign

22nd April 2021 - Former Australian Netballer joins Shooting Australia in Athlete Wellbeing role

17th March 2021 - Shooting Australia awarded Paralympic Pathway Grant

25th November 2020 - Shooting Australia looks to appoint official apparel supplier

11th November 2020 - Shooting Australia names Sarah Brady as General Manager Commercial and Marketing

4th November 2020 - Funding certainty sees Shooting Australia to unveil new developments

20th October 2020 - Reports reveal plan by Russian intelligence services to hack Tokyo Olympics

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.