Kuwait has filed suit in a Swiss court seeking $1 billion in damages from the International Olympic Committee over its suspension from competition, its youth and information minister said. 
 
The IOC and world football governing body FIFA suspended Kuwait in October over laws that allow government interference in sports. 
 
Sheikh Salman al-Humoud Al-Sabah said that the suspension, which threatens to exclude Kuwaiti athletes from the Olympics in Rio in August, was &quot;unjustifiable&quot; and imposed without proper investigation. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s totally unacceptable that Kuwait is treated in this unfair way and barred from international sports activities without any appropriate probe being conducted,&quot; the official KUNA news agency quoted the minister as saying late on Wednesday. 
 
The minister did not give further details of the lawsuit but the IOC is headquartered in the Swiss city of Lausanne. 
 
Apart from the IOC and FIFA, 16 other international sporting federations have also blacklisted Kuwait. 
 
In January, the Kuwaiti government filed suit in a domestic court seeking damages of $1.3 billion from 15 Kuwaiti sports officials it alleged had actively sought the suspensions. 
 
They included Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, who heads the Olympic Council of Asia and is a top IOC official as well as a member of the FIFA executive committee. 
 
The youth minister renewed those allegations on Wednesday, charging that officials who were supposed to represent Kuwait had been &quot;happy&quot; about the country&#39;s suspension. 
 
The Kuwaiti parliament approved sweeping changes to sports laws on Monday but MPs said the amendments did not go far enough to end the country&#39;s suspension. 
 
It is the third time since 2007 that FIFA and the IOC have suspended Kuwait for alleged government interference. 
 
(AFP)

It is the third time since 2007 that FIFA and the IOC have suspended Kuwait for alleged government interference

Kuwait has filed suit in a Swiss court seeking $1 billion in damages from the International Olympic Committee over its suspension from competition, its youth and information minister said. The IOC and world football governing body FIFA suspended Kuwait in October over laws that allow government interference in sports. Sheikh Salman al-Humoud Al-Sabah said that the suspension, which threatens to exclude Kuwaiti athletes from the Olympics in Rio in August, was "unjustifiable" and imposed without proper investigation. "It's totally unacceptable that Kuwait is treated in this unfair way and barred from international sports activities without any appropriate probe being conducted," the official KUNA news agency quoted the minister as saying late on Wednesday. The minister did not give further details of the lawsuit but the IOC is headquartered in the Swiss city of Lausanne. Apart from the IOC and FIFA, 16 other international sporting federations have also blacklisted Kuwait. In January, the Kuwaiti government filed suit in a domestic court seeking damages of $1.3 billion from 15 Kuwaiti sports officials it alleged had actively sought the suspensions. They included Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, who heads the Olympic Council of Asia and is a top IOC official as well as a member of the FIFA executive committee. The youth minister renewed those allegations on Wednesday, charging that officials who were supposed to represent Kuwait had been "happy" about the country's suspension. The Kuwaiti parliament approved sweeping changes to sports laws on Monday but MPs said the amendments did not go far enough to end the country's suspension. It is the third time since 2007 that FIFA and the IOC have suspended Kuwait for alleged government interference. (AFP)

Olympics: Suspended Kuwait seeks $1 billion in damages from IOC

<div style="text-align: justify;">Diego Maradona has offered to support new FIFA chief Gianni Infantino&#39;s bid to improve the running of football in Argentina. 
Speaking upon his arrival in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, the Argentine legend said: &quot;I&#39;m not going to be a FIFA observer, I&#39;m coming to collaborate directly with Gianni Infantino. 
&quot;I&#39;m not going to arrive at AFA (the Argentine Federation) to drop a bomb and start everything again from zero. On the contrary, I want Argentine football to become strong again, as it&#39;s always been, but with transparency.&quot; 
Elected in February to succeed Sepp Blatter, Infantino &quot;had a very positive and constructive meeting&quot; with Maradona in Paris on June 10, a FIFA spokesperson told AFP. 
&quot;It is important that true legends of the game like Diego Maradona are interested in the future of the game and involve themselves in the promotion and development of football.&quot; 
Maradona, who starred in Argentina&#39;s 1986 World Cup triumph, has often in the past been critical of world football authorities, last year saying Blatter had made a &quot;disgrace&quot; of the game. 
&quot;This was another step in implementing the FIFA President&#39;s vision to reconnect FIFA with the players who have made the history of the game,&quot; the FIFA spokesperson added. 
&quot;FIFA is committed to help and assist find a sustainable solution for the governance of Argentinian football. And Diego Maradona has offered his support.&quot; 
A joint FIFA and South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) mission is presently visiting Argentina. 
The Argentina Football Association (AFA) has been left reeling following the death of long-time president Julio Grondona in 2014, which unleashed an internal power struggle, and the FIFA corruption scandal, which implicated several figures in the world of Argentine football. 
AFA is also under investigation for suspected misuse of millions of dollars it received from the Argentine government under a programme called Football for All, in which matches were broadcast for free. (AFP)</div>

Says he wants Argentine football to become strong again, 'but with transparency'

Diego Maradona has offered to support new FIFA chief Gianni Infantino's bid to improve the running of football in Argentina. Speaking upon his arrival in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, the Argentine legend said: "I'm not going to be a FIFA observer, I'm coming to collaborate directly with Gianni Infantino. "I'm not going to arrive at AFA (the Argentine Federation) to drop a bomb and start everything again from zero. On the contrary, I want Argentine football to become strong again, as it's always been, but with transparency." Elected in February to succeed Sepp Blatter, Infantino "had a very positive and constructive meeting" with Maradona in Paris on June 10, a FIFA spokesperson told AFP. "It is important that true legends of the game like Diego Maradona are interested in the future of the game and involve themselves in the promotion and development of football." Maradona, who starred in Argentina's 1986 World Cup triumph, has often in the past been critical of world football authorities, last year saying Blatter had made a "disgrace" of the game. "This was another step in implementing the FIFA President's vision to reconnect FIFA with the players who have made the history of the game," the FIFA spokesperson added. "FIFA is committed to help and assist find a sustainable solution for the governance of Argentinian football. And Diego Maradona has offered his support." A joint FIFA and South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) mission is presently visiting Argentina. The Argentina Football Association (AFA) has been left reeling following the death of long-time president Julio Grondona in 2014, which unleashed an internal power struggle, and the FIFA corruption scandal, which implicated several figures in the world of Argentine football. AFA is also under investigation for suspected misuse of millions of dollars it received from the Argentine government under a programme called Football for All, in which matches were broadcast for free. (AFP)

Maradona offers to help new FIFA chief improve running of game in Argentina

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