– I am quite disappointed with Swedish taekwondo lately. We need more role models, like my older brother, who can stand up for one, said Josef Alami after his SM gold, and continued:
– We have a very bad national team management, which does not take care of the athletes. When you go to championships, you have to pay for your own travel and national team clothes and everything.
That interview was not appreciated by the Swedish Taekwodo Union (STU).
The evening paper writes that on Wednesday Alami received an email from STU’s chairman Fresia Perez, with the message that he is suspended from the national team for a year for having “spoken negatively about the federation and the national team management during SVT’s television interview”.
In the competition regulations, there is, among other things, a letter stating that an active member must not “exhibit behavior that opposes STU”. Alami does not mean that he has opposed STU.
– Everyone knows the truth, but no one wants to talk about it openly. I see it as doing the young people a favor, he says to Aftonbladet.
The association responds to the criticism
In a press release STU claims that the suspension was not only due to the interview during the SM week, and writes, among other things, that Alami received a warning last summer.
“The warning applied, among other things, to the fact that he left the team during the European Games without first talking to the leaders, to have illegally taken national team clothes from the SOK that should have gone to other athletes and also to his refusal to be photographed with the team and the Swedish flag”.
That Alami took clothes without permission is however denied by SOK, and Alami denies the accusations of having denied photos.
The interview with SVT they comment like this:
“Alami is free to talk to the media, but the national team and competition context must not be used as a pulpit for personal opinions, in accordance with competition regulations. In the national team and competition context, you represent Sweden and the confederation, as stated in the regulations.
21-year-old Josef Alami is now thinking about retiring.
SVT has applied for Alami and STU.