Earlier this week insidethegames exclusively revealed McCracken, the coach of WBC middleweight champion Carl Froch, will be banned from entering the corner of his GB fighters at all AIBA competitions, including the London 2012 Olympic Games, unless he gives up his professional links.

The move, which came into effect last month, is almost certain to damage Britain's Olympic medal hopes and the BOA and UK Sport are looking to clarify why it has been put in place at an advanced stage of GB boxing's preparations.

"We will be seeking clarification about the new rule and its sudden inclusion," said a BOA spokesman.

"We need to understand how and why this is being applied.

"We are very concerned as this new rule could have a considerable impact on the performance of our male and female boxers at the London 2012 Olympic Games."

Liz Nicholl, the chief executive of UK Sport, the body that funds Olympic sport, added: "This is a sport that has really stepped up, this is a sport that has multi-medal potential, this is a sport we are really excited about, this is a sport that we're really confident in the leadership of.

"This is a setback, it is a challenge, it is a concern to the sport.

"What you would want is the training environment to be followed through into the competition environment.

"That's going to be difficult now so we're going to be monitoring this closely."

The British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA), which manages the Olympic boxing programme, has also expressed their concern over the ruling.

"We are keen to establish the precise implications of this new law and how it came about," a spokesman told insidethegames.

"We are speaking to a number of people about this issue and are committed to doing everything we can to ensure our boxers have the best possible chance of success."

As things stand, McCracken would still be able to coach Britain's amateur boxers but he would not be able to work their corner during fights.

If McCracken did decide to walk away from professional boxing, he would still face a six-month wait to have his AIBA certification renewed but with Froch currently starring in the lucrative Super Six series, it is highly unlikely McCracken will sever ties any time, soon leaving the situation looking bleak.

There is no question mark over McCracken's position as performance director at BABA as he has done nothing wrong, but the issue highlights the frictions between the AIBA and the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE), which came about after former chief executive Paul King unsuccessfully challenged C K Wu for the Presidency of AIBA and attempted to postpone last year's AIBA Congress held in Almaty last October.

The move has seen the ABAE come under investigation from the AIBA Disciplinary Commission and there is talk that the move to ban professional coaches is part of an AIBA vendetta against the ABAE as the move is contradictory to the new AIBA World Series of Boxing tournament which sees boxers compete without head guards.

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April 2011: Exclusive - GB Boxers set to fight at London 2012 Olympics without head coach McCracken in corner
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November 2009: British boxing head coach leaves as McCracken merges roles
November 2009: Time is not an issue for London 2012 promises McCracken
November 2009: Froch trainer appointed to guide British boxers for London 2012