FEI Defends its Handling of Dominican Republic-Brazil Olympic Qualifying Case

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LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Oct. 24–The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) issued a statement Wednesday expressing “full confidence” in the FEI handling of the case involving the Dominican Republic and Brazil to compete in dressage at the summer Olympics in London.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the appeal against the selection of a Brazil rider who qualified at the top of the Olympic rankings for South America. CAS found that FEI approval of a rule providing an exception to three foreign judges on a ground jury of five judges at CDI3* events was a mistake but not sufficient to overturn the results.

FEI Secretary General Ingmar De Vos said in a statement:

“The FEI has the responsibility to enforce and, in this case, to defend the implementation of its rules. This is particularly important given the fact that under these rules athletes are competing for Olympic qualification and it is the duty of the FEI to ensure athletes have equal opportunities to qualify for the entire duration of the qualification period.

“I have full confidence that the FEI team and Ms Lisa Lazarus in particular has defended this case, as always, in a professional manner with the utmost respect for the rights of all parties involved. It is regrettable to see that Yvonne Losos de Muñiz has now made the decision to leave the sport.”

Luíza Tavares de Almeida rode Pastor for Brazil at the London Games. The Dominican Republic’s Losos de Muñiz who placed second in the Olympic qualifying rankings for South America said in a statement she had now quit her competition career.