FILE – The Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena competes within the males’s pole vault last throughout the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Video games on the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 3, 2021. (Photograph by Ben STANSALL / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Athletics Monitor and Area Affiliation (Patafa) on Monday belied pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena’s declare of “character assassination” after the latter was requested to return €85,000 (over P4.8 million) in monetary help meant for the wage of his Ukrainian coach.
In a press launch despatched by the Patafa, the nationwide federation for athletics stated the investigation performed by its board on Obiena was purely inner and had been refrained from the prying eyes of the general public.
It added that Patafa “acted on a press release signed by Obiena’s coach, Vitaly Petrov, who knowledgeable the affiliation that he didn’t obtain cost for his providers to Obiena.”
Obiena denied in a press convention on Sunday that he did not launch the wage of Petrov for the providers rendered by the legendary pole vault mentor from early 2018 onward.
Threatening to retire, the Tokyo Olympian and Asian record-holder confirmed a press release signed by Petrov, who defined that the monetary obligation has been paid by Obiena in full.
The 26-year-old Obiena likewise stated he has already filed a criticism earlier than the Philippine Olympic Committee, Worldwide Olympic Committee and World Athletics.
In keeping with the Patafa board, Petrov’s earlier declare that he didn’t obtain his wage was backed by an affidavit signed by World Athletics vp Sergey Bubka, an Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion in pole vault who’s now the president of the Nationwide Olympic Committee of Ukraine.
The Patafa additionally took exception to Obiena’s digital press convention the place he pressed for “the total and public withdrawal of the investigation and a full public apology from the authorities concerned” as an alternative of going through the investigative physique.
A supply from the federation stated the Patafa board desires to know the schedule of cost since Obiena had claimed in varied liquidation reviews that he had launched the funds to Petrov on time.
The Patafa board stated that Obiena has reported to the federation that he had turned over Petrov’s wage from Could 2018 to August 2021.
In keeping with reviews, Petrov has a month-to-month wage of two,000 Euros for dealing with the coaching of the Filipino pole vault ace in Formia, Italy.
The supply added that Patafa straight made the funds to Obiena, who was tasked to show it over to Petrov since there was no contract between the Patafa and the international coach.
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