There is an ongoing stand-off in the Senegalese arena with wrestlers demanding the federation to reduce exorbitant penalties imposed on them.
The loggerhead with the Central Wrestling Committee –the equivalent of a federation in Senegalese wrestling terms – began this year coming in the aftermath of the Modou Lo versus Lac de Guier II combat.
Guediawaye-based Lac II was slapped with a seven million CFA fine and incurred further wrath from the sport’s governing body in the form of a ban for rest of the season after he spoke up against the verdict.
In an extraordinary 20-minute video rant in which Lac claimed the federation loathes him, the Cassamance-born made pleas for wrestlers to collaborate to end what he calls the “ruthless deduction of athlete’s prize money on flimsy rules.”
Soon after this, wrestlers began joining hands and drummed up support.
A meeting was summoned comprising wrestling club heads among other notable figures of the arena sympathetic of the wrestlers’ cause.
In that convergence, Gris Bordeaux –one of the most senior stars of the current generation of wrestlers – called for review of the part of the constitution regarding fines while others suggested the federation’s president to step aside.
These calls were further intensified after the wrestling committee failed to convince the wrestlers about how the deducted amounts are spent in a behind-closed-doors meeting.
President of the Senegalese wrestlers’ association Boy Kaire accused the governing body of not doing enough to protect interest of athletes, citing the condition of veteran star Boy Bambara who had to be helped by a third party to fund his surgery.
With the ongoing dispute, the West African nation’s sports ministry warns the new wrestling stadium will only open for use if the furore is resolved.
Meanwhile, former wrestler and wrestling pundit Moustapha Gueye while backing the wrestlers’ yearn for change, called for calm.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Wrestlers have the right to defend their interests, but it must be done in diplomacy, in a democratic spirit. We need to start the discussions and review the sanctions. Wrestlers want to revolutionize the fight and are right to be concerned about their future,”[/perfectpullquote]
he said.
