The World Bridge Championships, formerly the Olympiad, are under way in the picturesque city of Wroclaw in Poland without one of the game’s biggest stars, Boye Brogeland.
What explains Boye’s notable absence from the goings on at Wroclaw?
I asked Boye to explain this anomaly: “I decided not to attend almost a year ago mainly because of the way the WBF handled the cheating scandal and in particular the manner in which the Polish Bridge Federation (PBU) acted, or rather, failed to act. Based on this I lost interest in the championship”.
Boye is referring to the Balicky-Zmudzinski case. In September last year the WBF Credential Committee withdrew their invitation to the Bermuda Bowl in Chennai to the illustrious Polish stars, they were replaced by Piotr Gawrys and Michal Klukowski. The Polish team went on to win the event in somewhat controversial circumstances since they qualified for the event with the partnership of Balicky-Zmudzinski. The German, Israeli and Monaco teams withdrew when pairs from each of their teams were similarly accused of ethical infractions.
Mr Radoslaw Kielbasinski, who was President of the PBU at the time, issued a lengthy statement: read here »
In May of this year the European Bridge League (EBL) president, Mr Yves Aubry, decided to refer the case to the EBL Disciplinary Commission, “as the pair are suspected of committing infractions of the laws of Bridge”. The hearing for the Balicki-Zimudzinsky case is expected to take place on October 2016.
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Laura Camponeschi
Balicky-Zmudzinski Case:
- 26 September 2015: WBF Credential Committee »
- 2 October 2015: PBU Statement »
- 4 November 2015: Poland withdrew from Champions’ CUP »
- 5 November 2015: Cezary Balicki’s Statement »
- 7 May 2016: Poznan case »
- 8 May 2016: PBU on Poznan Case »
- 30 May 2016: EBL Disciplinary Commission »
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