The IBA will hold a Board meeting to consider rescheduling the Global Boxing Cup ©Getty Images

The International Boxing Association (IBA) has announced it will consider rescheduling the Global Boxing Cup from Russia at its next Board meeting, as the sporting fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.

The team boxing competition, which was previously postponed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, is due to be held in June 2022.

A factor that may significantly impact the outcome of the meeting will be the International Olympic Committee Executive Board’s decision to recommend that all Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials are to be banned from sporting events.

The IOC has also advised for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals if they cannot be removed from the competition.

This builds onto the IOC’s call last week to relocate all events from Russia, and to ban the Russian and Belarusian flag and national anthem from all sporting events.

However, in the IOC’s view, this may not be possible on occasions for organisational or legal reasons.

In the event of this, the IOC will leave the decision to the relevant organisation.

Gazprom remains as the general partner of the IBA despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine ©Getty Images
Gazprom remains as the general partner of the IBA despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine ©Getty Images

The IOC deemed that the war in Ukraine is an exceptional circumstance where athletes must be punished for actions by the Government - a stance the IOC does not normally take - "to protect the integrity of global sports competitions for the safety of all participants".

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine said yesterday that at least 352 civilians, including 14 children, have been killed and another 1,684 wounded since the Russian invasion began.

In addition, the United Nations estimates that over 500,000 people have fled Ukraine since the invasion began.

On Friday (February 25), the IBA confirmed to insidethegames that they will be retaining the Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom as their general partner.

The IBA, previously known as AIBA, signed a non-disclosure agreement so that it could not reveal to the IOC, who has raised concerns the IBA may become overly dependent on the company for revenue, how much money it was receiving from Gazprom.

In June 2019, the IBA was suspended by the IOC because of severe concerns with its governance, finances and refereeing and judging.

In contrast, European football's governing body UEFA has ended their partnership with Gazprom.