A four-year investigation into alleged physical, verbal and psychological abuse of Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnasts resulted in the former Olympic team head coach and current government minister being banned internationally from the sport for eight years.
Marianna Vasileva’s athletes said she tried to strangle one of them who wanted to leave the team, physically punished them and made them compete while they were unwell, according to documents in the case filed by the Gymnastics Ethics Association. and training, and deprive them of contact with their families. Foundation (Global Environment Facility).
In 2013, an athlete who was shamed for her weight tried to jump out of a window until she was stopped by Vasileva’s daughter, former European Championship medalist and current Olympic coach Siyana Vasileva. She was also sanctioned for hitting a gymnast with her cellphone.
The independent panel of three judges said in the sanctions ruling that Mariana Vasileva “exemplified and normalized the abuse of children and young people over whom she held significant power.”
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Since 2021, Vasileva has served as Deputy Minister of Sports of the Government of Azerbaijan. According to GEF investigators authorized by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the agency tried to persuade witnesses to withdraw evidence.
“The outcome of this case speaks for itself and illustrates the importance of independence and the resources required to resolve such matters until the end of the judicial process,” the GEF said in a statement on Friday.
The foundation was established in 2019 and is funded by the International Gymnastics Federation to better protect athletes in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal involving former U.S. team doctor Larry Nassar. Since then, gymnasts from countries including Australia, Britain, the Netherlands and Switzerland have raised claims of a culture of abuse and bullying.
Events in Azerbaijan have shown close ties between the government and the national gymnastics federation led by Meriban Aliyeva, who is the country’s vice president and is run by her husband, President Ilham Aliyev Over 21 years.
Bulgarian-born Mariana Vasileva served as head coach of the Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnastics team from 2008 to 2021, where her athletes finished 10th at the Tokyo Olympics. She was subsequently appointed deputy to Sports Minister Farid Gaybov, who is president of European Gymnastics and a member of the executive committee of the International Gymnastics Federation, the world’s governing body.
The alleged abuse was first reported to the Global Environment Facility in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July 2020 after complaints at the national level did not result in disciplinary action.
Lawyers for the defense – Vasileva and her daughter Siyana, two other coaches and the federation – dropped some of the charges because the statute of limitations had expired, arguing that “the alleged conduct was not as alleged occurred or did not occur at all”.
The federation was eventually fined 30,000 Swiss francs ($32,800) by an independent judge and banned from attending high-level FIFA business meetings next year. Its conservation policies must be monitored for two years.
“Mariana Vasileva’s denials that she has caused pain to gymnasts are not credible,” the judges wrote. They also banned her for life from serving as a head coach at any national gymnastics federation. The 50-year-old coach has been stripped of his FIFA coaching honors and must undergo three months of guard training before returning to coaching (possibly in 2032).
Siyana Vasileva was handed an 18-month ban, suspended for three years. She helped coach the Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnastics team, which finished fifth at the Paris Olympics last year before the verdict was finalized.
She remains a member of the International Gymnasts Council as the global representative of rhythmic gymnasts elected until 2025.
On Friday, the FIG said its executive committee was expected to discuss the Azerbaijan case at a meeting next month.
The verdict and sanctions handed down late last year were not announced until December 31. This can be challenged on appeal.
