At the end of February, the Finnish Shooting Sports Association (SAL) announced that long-time sport boss, Russian-German Alexander Ratner sued the Finnish Shooting Sports Association. Ratner is the president of the European Shooting Sports Confederation (ESC).
According to Ratner, SAL is guilty of defamation. He demands compensation of 100,000 euros and the payment of court costs.
Ratner has also sued the Italian president of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF). Luciano Rossi and the Italian Shooting Sports Federation.
The background has a long history between two Russian bosses, Ratner and by Vladimir Lisinquestionable actions in the most significant management positions in shooting sports.
At the latest last autumn, a large part of European countries had enough. Finland may pay a heavy price for being the leader of the rebel group.
Read more: The Russian boss sued the Finnish sports federation, demands a large compensation – this is what it’s all about
Urheilu reached Alexander Ratner by phone during the air rifle European Championships. The competitions were held between February and March in Györ, Hungary.
Ratner said he was busy because he was there for the European Championships. He said that he would be happy to answer questions later in the evening. However, could no longer reach Ratner.
– There is a really long story behind it. The Finnish Federation knows why I started this process, Ratner managed to wince.
Lisin and Ratner
Russian-born Ratner was elected president of the European Shooting Sports Federation in the fall of 2021. He beat Luciano Rossi in the presidential election after receiving 55 percent of the votes in the ESC general assembly.
That, like many other ESC or ISSF elections in recent years, was strange. According to Ross, Ratner’s selection should not even have been possible due to conflicts of interest, as Ratner also served as the General Secretary of the International Shooting Sports Federation.
According to Ratner, there was no conflict of interest because the ISSF General Secretary does not have the right to vote in ISSF meetings.
Ratner served as ESC Secretary General for eight years before being elected ESC President. He became chairman when Vladimir Lisin no longer continued in his position. Lisin had been the chairman of the ESC since 2009, but also became the chairman of the ISSF in 2018.
Many European unions have long been indignant about the actions of Ratner and the Russian oligarch Lisin. Over the years, Ratner and Lisin have strongly supported each other in presidential elections and conflict situations.
Because of the war in Ukraine, the actions of the Russian duo have raised even greater questions. When the European Championships in the spring of 2022 were organized in Norway, the Norwegian federation informed Lisin and Ratner that they are not welcome to the Games in any official role.
However, Ratner participated in the Games in Norway as a “private person”. He paid for his own hotel and bought his ticket to the games. Chairman of the Norwegian Shooting Sports Association Håvard Larsen said to NRKthat Ratner “is not a welcome person, but his arrival cannot be prevented.”
Ratner replied to the Norwegian Federation that he has already lived in Germany for 30 years. In addition, Ratner claimed that none of the persons mentioned by the Norwegian Federation have connections with the Russian leadership.
Forbes news by In 2022, Vladimir Lisin was the richest person in Russia. Novolipetsk Steel, managed and principally owned by Lisin, is one of the largest steel companies in Russia. It has been widely reported that Novolipetsk would have supplied steel for Russia’s war needs in Ukraine.
Western countries, with the exception of Australia, have not imposed sanctions on Lisin. When the war started, Lisin did not agree to withdraw, even temporarily, from the chair of the ISSF.
The dispute escalated
The dispute between Finland and Ratner escalated last fall. Finland had had enough of “dictator-like measures”. Finland, which received the support of the majority of ESC member countries, would have liked a vote of confidence in the ESC leadership at the ESC General Assembly in Baku.
Finland had sent a letter to the members of the ESC in which they told about the violations made by Ratner. According to the letter, in 2022, among other things, Ratner had used ESC’s website and social media to push Lisin for another season at the head of the ISSF.
If Lisin had previously supported Ratner on the ESC side, in 2022 Ratner did everything he could to pay back. Ratner wrote a letter praising Lisin from earth to heaven. In the same letter, he harshly scolded Lisin’s counter-candidate Ross. The letter is still publicly available on the ESC website.
However, at the end of 2022, Rossi beat Lisin in the ISSF presidential election with 136–127 votes. After that, Lisin and Ratner left the meeting slamming the doors. It can be said that Ratner resigned from his position as ISSF Secretary General in a hurry, because after the lunch break he did not even return to the meeting to go through the other votes on the agenda.
The ISSF got rid of the Russian duo at once, but Ratner stubbornly continues at the head of the ESC.
Already in the fall, a German law firm responded in Ratner’s name by sending a letter to the Finnish Shooting Sports Association. The letter threatened legal action.
– That’s what threatens, said the executive director of SAL Anne Laurila at that time.
Finland’s hard work did not yield results. The Baku General Assembly went through without a vote of confidence. Ratner said he plans to continue taking the necessary steps to defend his reputation “against attacks directed at him personally.”
So when at the end of February a letter full of legal text in German arrived at SAL’s office, the content of the letter was not really surprising.
– Of course, it was very pleasant to read the legal text in German, Laurila laughs.
“Tactical game”
Ratner therefore demands damages and legal costs. The Finnish Federation will incur at least translation costs and costs for hiring lawyers.
Laurila admits that the financial side also worries the relatively small sports federation. In Finland, there is a hope that other European countries would help, because Finland was the one who took the risk and started to lead the questioning of the ESC management.
– Now we hope that SAL is not the only payer here. We have, however, pursued a common cause here, but we have been the brave party that has performed under our name, Laurila says.
– Yes, we knew that the person who raises the matter will not be treated with silk gloves in the later stages. That way, we expect that we won’t be alone in receiving bumps.
Laurila believes that support could come from other countries’ shooting sports federations as well as from the international business side.
In the fall, Finland also tried to promote a vote of confidence through the International Court of Appeal for Sports (CAS). However, CAS rejected Finland’s request for help due to scheduling reasons.
Finland also managed to make a big financial contribution to the CAS process.
– Regarding that, at least we hope that we will get the money back in full.
In the fall, Finland had therefore collected examples of Ratner’s reprehensible activities in its letter. We are still arguing about the same paper, because Ratner sued Finland because of those accusations.
Laurila emphasizes that, according to Finland’s point of view, there would not even be any need for justifications for the vote of confidence.
– There were many other unions involved, so the other unions had the idea that there should be examples mentioned, why there is no trust.
– In the Finnish system, you don’t need any more reasons why you are dissatisfied with the management of an instance.
In Finland, Ratner’s actions are seen as part of a tactical game. When the vote of confidence was not put on the agenda in the fall, SAL announced that it would not give up.
SAL said that one of the next steps could be to call for an extraordinary meeting for a vote of confidence. According to ESC rules, an extra meeting must be organized if the majority demands it.
Laurila believes that now Ratner could appeal to the ongoing legal process and thus try to prevent the extra meeting.
– He has no shortage of money. There is definitely someone paying in the background. This is a tactical game from him.
Laurila does not yet know when the case will proceed. The matter is now under the work of lawyers.
According to Laurila, SAL has announced the issues publicly because it cannot understand the current situation.
– It seems so absurd that such things are being tried in court. When we think about, for example, the Finnish concept of good governance. If you can’t criticize the management, or if the consequences are like that, it’s a special activity.