On Saturday evening, the Finnish Shooting Sports Association (SAL) sent an extraordinary news release about the aftermath of the general meeting of the European Shooting Sports Association. The European Shooting Sports Confederation (ESC) had met in Baku, Azerbaijan.
SAL already knew in advance to expect a “stormy” event. In summary, the reason is that Finland had long demanded a vote of confidence on the chairman’s and the entire board’s agenda for the meeting.
Alexander Ratner was elected ESC chairman in the fall of 2021. Ratner is a Russian who also has German citizenship.
Finland and many other European countries have been outraged by Ratner’s actions. This, among other things, supported a Russian oligarch as president of the International Shooting Sports Federation ISSF last year Vladimir Lisin.
Forbes by Lisin was the richest person in Russia last year. Novolipetsk Steel, an oligarch who got rich in the steel industry, is one of Russia’s largest steel companies, and it has been told supplied steel for Russia’s war needs in Ukraine.
The ISSF presidential election was finally won by an Italian Luciano Rossi. After that, Lisin and Ratner, who previously served as ISSF’s general secretary, left the meeting slamming the doors.
After this, the new management of the ISSF, for example, could not access the ISSF’s social media channels for a long time, because they were still in the possession of Ratner and Lisin.
Chairman of the Finnish Shooting Sports Association Vesa Nissinen reviewed in Iltalehti in other words, Ratner’s and Lisin’s mistakes and management methods.
– As long as there have been Russians at the head of shooting associations, they have made decisions unilaterally. Both Lisin and Ratner have acted this way. They don’t follow democratic principles but pull all sorts of things out of their sleeves. They don’t move the sport forward, Nissinen told IL.
Urheilu reached the executive director of SAL from Baku Anne Laurilan. He says that Finland’s vote of confidence is not so much about individual events, but about the ESC not working as it should in an organization.
– Finns have a slightly different perception of good governance. The current management has not followed it. The current government seems to be largely following Ratner’s will. It does not work according to the democratic principle.
In response, the threat of legal action
Focusing on Olympic sports Inside the Games reported already in August that the Finnish Shooting Sports Association is pushing for a vote of confidence in the management of the European Shooting Sports Association. The website reported that SAL’s letter called for a “secret electronic vote” to unseat the ESC’s current leadership.
Finland had sent a letter to the members of the ESC in which they told about the violations made by Ratner. Among other things, Ratner had used ESC’s website and social media to push Lisin to head the ISSF. According to Finland, this was against all the rules of the game.
According to Laurila, according to the rules, Finland already sent a request months in advance that the vote of confidence be put on the agenda of the meeting. At this point, Finland had gathered the majority of ESC member countries behind its request, although according to Laurila, the will of one member country should be enough.
The German law firm responded on Ratner’s behalf by sending a letter to the Finnish Shooting Sports Association. According to Ratner, Finland’s proposal for a vote of confidence is based on incorrect information. In the letter, the Finnish Federation was threatened with legal action if Finland did not withdraw from its demands.
Laurila says that this threat has not gone away. Finland had explained in its letter why it wants to vote on Ratner’s confidence. Based on this, Ratner feels that Finland has tried to ruin his honor and reputation.
– His German lawyer has sent us a long letter in which they justify how they could sue us in Germany and Switzerland. As long as we don’t have paper that the matter will actually go to court, we haven’t reacted terribly. That’s what threatens, Laurila states.
– We have also informed the Finnish Olympic Committee about the matter. They are aware of things, and hopefully we will get at least emotional support from there, he continues.
The ESC management is unwavering
In any case, the ESC leadership announced that it does not intend to include Finland’s proposal for a vote of confidence on the agenda of the general assembly.
Finland has not flinched from the threats. SAL previously sent a request for help to the International Court of Appeal for Sport (CAS) to get the matter on the list of the General Assembly.
– We emphasize that we are also fighting for a greater cause, i.e. for respect for laws and the principles of democracy. Remember: all power in the ESC belongs to the General Assembly – that is, to us. The presidency has been elected to follow our will and not the other way around, SAL’s the announcement stated.
However, CAS rejected Finland’s request for help due to scheduling reasons. CAS replied that it is not able to influence the course of the meeting with such a quick schedule.
So when the meeting started on Saturday, the vote of confidence was not on the list.
A day before the general meeting, Ratner had sent a letter to the member unions, in which he stated that “it is obvious that the accusations against me and the entire government lack merit and substance”.
Furthermore, Ratner stated that “in response to the attacks directed at me personally, I have begun and will continue to take the necessary steps to defend my honor and reputation.”
The management of the Finnish Shooting Sports Association has announced that it will not give up, but further measures are to be expected. In his announcement SAL said that one of the next steps could be to call for an extraordinary meeting. According to ESC rules, an extra meeting must be held if the majority demands it.
European Championships in Finland
The Baku General Assembly decided to award the 2027 European Championships for rifle, pistol, moving target and shotgun to Finland. The decision is conditional – the Ruutikkanka shooting sports center proposed as the venue for the games is expected to be ready in 2025. However, the center should be completed already in 2024, because the world championship competitions in rifle practical will be held there.
Among the other prestigious competitions, the 2026 European Shotgun Championships were awarded to Greece and the 2027 European Air Weapons Championships were awarded to Estonia. The 2026 European Air Weapons Championship was not decided at the meeting, as Latvia withdrew its own application.