Statement from the World ParaVolley Board of Directors

World ParaVolley, the International Federation of volleyball for persons with a physical impairment, announced today that an international technical official, Pierre Farmer (Canada) has been permanently suspended. The suspension has been imposed following the resolution of disciplinary proceedings brought by World ParaVolley against Mr Farmer.

The disciplinary proceedings related to incidents which occurred at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. These incidents were reported immediately to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Organising Committee and the International Paralympic Committee. The disciplinary proceedings were adjudicated by a World ParaVolley Incident Review Panel and were not contested nor appealed. Mr Farmer has received a lifetime suspension in relation to a breach of the World ParaVolley Code of Conduct and Ethics and is declared ineligible to participate in the activities of World ParaVolley, and sanctioned events within the four ParaVolley Zones of ParaVolley Africa, ParaVolley Asia Oceania, ParaVolley Europe and ParaVolley Pan America. The suspension dates from 1 July 2022.

“World ParaVolley President Barry Couzner said: “World ParaVolley takes the safety and well-being of its members, athletes, coaches, officials, and volunteers seriously, including those involved in the Paralympic Games. As part of our governance structure, we have the ability to convene specific Incident Review Panels to address all complaints coming forward from our community and a long-standing Judicial Commission that offers an independent appeal process. In recent years, World ParaVolley has also increased its development of various safeguarding policies and practices which we continue to evolve at the forefront of our strategic planning. We appreciate the swift support of the International Paralympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Organising Committee during the occasion of the Paralympic Games when these alleged incidents occurred.”