The IOC "has threatened legal action against a government-appointed Olympic committee in Kuwait" that has been suspended by many int'l federations, according to the AFP. The IOC also said in a letter that it "could seek damages" over the Kuwait committee's unauthorized use of the Olympic name. The IOC, FIFA and other federations suspended Kuwait in October last year, "accusing the Gulf state's government of taking over the committee." The IOC said that Sheikh Fahad Jaber al-Sabah, chair of the government-run committee, was seeking to "create confusion by presenting yourself publicly as the chairman of the so-called Interim Board of the Kuwait Olympic Committee." The IOC said that it "reserves all its rights to take any action against all those, including yourself, who have been involved in any way, directly or indirectly, in the establishment as well as any other activities of the so-called 'interim committee' in gross violation of the Olympic Charter" (AFP, 11/4). The DAILY TIMES reported the IOC letter was also sent to Sheikh Salman al-Humoud, who is seen as "the instigator behind the new laws." He resigned as head of the Asian Shooting Confederation last year after standing unsuccessfully against Mexico’s Olegario Vazquez Raña to become head of the Int'l Shooting Sport Federation in '14. Al-Sabah blamed his cousin, ANOC and OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, for his defeat after it was "alleged beforehand that he used his Government position to illegally collect votes." It "is thought that many of the subsequent developments in Kuwait have been a form of revenge against Sheikh Ahmad and the wider sports world" (DAILY TIMES, 11/5).
