In his quest to control all Boxing Referees and Judges with an iron fist, Lt.Colonel (Rtd) Hemantha Weerasinghe the current Vice President of the Sri Lanka Amateur Boxing Association and also the Secretary of the Boxing Referees & Judges Commission with the blessings of its President Dian Gomes, has sent out a threatening email to all its members on the 15th August 2023, titled “Disbandment of Unauthorized Referee and Judge Groups”.
The threatening email whilst copying his President Gomes, is viewed as an attempt to force all Boxing Referees and Judges to exit from several other whatsapp groups that they may be currently on, in SLABA’s quest to have one social media platform as a means of communication.
Lt.Colonel (Rtd) Hemantha Weerasinghe Vice President Sri Lanka Boxing
Weerasinghe wrote “It is essential to remember that the existence of separate referee and judge groups could potentially influence the outcome of bouts, directly or indirectly. Furthermore, maintaining a division among the referees and judges contradicts the ethical principles upheld by the International Boxing Association and our own Referees & Judges Commission of BASL.”
His justification stated read – quote ” Recently, it has come to our attention that certain referees and judges affiliated with the R&J Commission of the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka have established separate R&J social media groups with the intention of facilitating communication and idea sharing. While we acknowledge the natural inclination for interaction and unity among colleagues, it is imperative that we underscore the potential adverse implications arising from the existence of these distinct social media groupings. It is worth noting that the R&J Commission has already initiated an official WhatsApp R&J Group for the purpose of disseminating official communications and facilitating information exchange. Therefore, the R&J Commission holds the standpoint that additional groups exclusively composed of referees and judges are unnecessary for the purpose of sharing personal viewpoints.”
“The primary concern arises from the fact that these distinct groups, each consisting of only referees and judges and boxing officials, could inadvertently affect the impartiality and neutrality required during boxing tournaments. With members having varied interests, including active involvement as coaches of boxing teams, managerial roles within boxing teams, especially for those with individual interest for boxers and even administrative positions within the boxing clubs, there is a risk that these separate groups could be exploited to gain undue advantages.”
“In light of these concerns, the R&J Commission has made a unanimous decision to request the immediate disbandment of all unauthorized R&J groups, apart from the officially recognized R&Js official and R&J Fun groups. This decision is rooted in our commitment to ensuring fairness, transparency, and neutrality among the Sri Lanka R&Js.” End quote.
Finally his threat read ” On behalf of the R&J Commission, I urge you all to kindly exit from any separate R&J social media groups you may currently be a part of, effective immediately. The Commission will not hesitate to take stringent measures against those who continue to be members of these unauthorized groups or serve as administrators. Our aim is to safeguard the impartiality and integrity of our boxing officials and to uphold the reputation of the sport we all hold dear.
However, Weerasinghe’s threatining email was not received by many recipients who viewed this meaningless threat as a means of further trying to wrest control of an association that has now splintered due to the SLABA being run by a committee known to them as control freaks.
An official attached to the SLABA said ” Even the general media has been silenced, as nothing negative is currently being written and published by them. Even an official complaint filed at the Ministry of Sports by officials who followed the due process and paid the said fee of Rs 50,000 at the time of filing their official complaint against the SLABA President Dian Gomes has also mysteriously gone missing. This is even after we were asked to provide written submissions. When the Minister of Sports Roshan Ransinghe was met regarding this issue by the complainants they were told that the SLABA President Dian Gomes is too much of an influential person.”
Their sentiments could not be better echoed as even a sexual harassment case filed agaisnt the SLABA President Dian Gomes that was being investigated and conducted by the Womens and Child Protection Bureau attached to the Sri Lanka Police was ordered shut and closed by the Inspector General of Police C.D.Wickramaratne.
Dian Gomes – President Sri Lanka Boxing
This was done by IGP Wickramaratne even going to the extent of disregarding and dismissing the psychiatric evaluation report provided by Dr. Neil Fernando the Chief Psychiatrist attached to the Kotelawala Defence Academy regarding the victim, which was filed in the Magistrate’s Court.
