The Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena prepares to compete through the males’s pole vault occasion at The Diamond League AG Memorial Van Damme athletics assembly at The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on September 3, 2021. (Photograph by JOHN THYS / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines—EJ Obiena is contemplating retirement following his row with the Philippine Athletics Monitor and Area Affiliation (Patafa).
In a digital press convention on Sunday, Obiena stated he’s able to retire and return to high school after Patafa accused him of falsifying his liquidation experiences and failing to pay his coach Vitaly Petrov of the owed month-to-month stipend.
The Tokyo Olympian added Patafa tarnished his fame as an athlete and demanded these accusing him to withdraw the investigation and concern a public apology.
“The one decision to this now, is a full and public withdrawal of investigation, and a full public apology from the authorities concerned on this,” stated Obiena Sunday. “If this doesn’t occur, I’ll contemplate my different choices, being a right away retirement from the game that I really like within the Philippines, and doubtless return to high school. As a lot as I consider, there’s extra for me to attain, I’m additionally evaluating different choices within the subject of sports activities, which I could or might not disclose in a latter date.”
Obiena, who’s learning Electrical Engineering at College of Santo Tomas, has additionally filed authorized complaints with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC), and the World Athletics in opposition to Patafa.
“I admit a few of my liquidation paperwork was submitted late and typically in a sloppy vogue. I’m a pole vaulter not a company accountant. I’m alone in attempting to deal with all this out of the country,” stated Obiena.
On high of Patafa’s accusations, the nationwide sporting affiliation additionally ordered Obiena to return €85,000 (P4.8 million) that the athlete acquired as monetary help.
Petrov, who joined Obiena within the press convention, disputed Patafa’s claims, saying that he was already paid for his service.
“I’ve requested many occasions for my coaches to be paid instantly, I’ve no want to play intermediary, however this has been refused. I’ve not all the time dealt with the paperwork effectively, and I’m very sorry for this. However to take this reality and instantly construe false accusation of theft and embezzlement is past sincere precept. It’s a disgusting abuse of energy, and it’s in itself a prison exercise referred to as slander and defamation of character.”
Obiena additionally sought the providers of accounting agency PricewaterhouseCoopers—thought of as one of many Huge 4 accounting corporations together with Deloitte, EY, and KPMG— to audit the funds given to him.
“I’ll publish this audit in a public area for all to see; it is going to present that each single centavo is accounted for all was paid on my own. I welcome a brilliant mild shining on this scenario, as a result of I’ve nothing to cover,” stated Obiena.
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