 Derya Büyükuncu. AP photo |
Animosity between Derya Büyükuncu and the Turkish Swimming Federation, or TYF, took another turn Thursday as swimming’s national governing body canceled its contract with the five-time Olympic athlete.
TYF released a statement late Thursday announcing that Büyükuncu’s contract had been annulled and a case had been opened at the Disciplinary Committee regarding derisive remarks allegedly made by the swimmer in relation to the body.
The annulment of his contract means Büyükuncu will be deprived of his monthly $5,000 salary, which was decreased from $10,000 late last month.
“Derya Büyükuncu has informed us of his desire to live and train in the United States of America. He said he could not afford it and asked for help, adding that he could not pay his rent and fee for a trainer and training pool,” the statement said. “He was given a monthly salary of $10,000 and the total amount of support given to him reached $113,000 in the last year.
It was also said that Büyükuncu’s participation to “Yok Böyle Dans,” the Turkish version of television show “Dancing with the Stars,” was another factor in the suspension of the contract.
“Derya Büyükuncu has been in Turkey since August 2010 and he refuses to work with Turkish national team trainers despite several offers. He also participated in a television contest during that time,” the statement said.
Another significant reason was Büyükuncu’s recent outburst against the federation’s decision to cut his salary in an interview published in the daily Hürriyet on Thursday.
“After he said, “And if they were as brave as me they would not cut my salary in half, they would cancel it completely,” we found it impossible to support him and a case in the Disciplinary Committee was opened,” the federation said.
It was reported last month that Büyükuncu deliberately skipped two of his three races at the World Short-Course Swimming Championships in Doha. TYF was fined 120 euros by FINA, the swimming world’s governing body, and the Turkish federation cut Büyükuncu’s salary by half as a punishment.
Büyükuncu was assigned to European Championships in late November and the World Championships in December, he said. “(An athlete) cannot usually cope with two tournaments in a period of three weeks.”
“I finished fifth in my meet at the European Championships and nobody called to congratulate me,” he said. “Then they assigned me to the World Championships without my knowledge. I said my main race would be the 200m, so I decided to skip the other races. The Turkish federation neglected to tell FINA about my withdrawal so they were fined.”
“But they reported it as a huge suspension, as if it were a 10-year ban from international competitions. It was only something about $100. It doesn’t matter, I can pay that,” he said. “I am looking ahead. I will participate to the 2012 Olympics. No matter what they do, they cannot stop me.”
“And if they were as brave as me they would not cut my salary in half, they would cancel it completely. So I see that they don’t have the guts that I do, not one percent of the guts I have.”
Büyükuncu, Turkey’s most active swimmer both on international and domestic levels, has been a regular at the Olympic Games since the 1992 Barcelona meet, but has never won a medal. His highlights include a silver medal in the 100m backstroke at the European Short-Course Championships in Lisbon in 1999 and a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke at both the World Short-Course Championships in Athens and the European Championships in Helsinki in 2000.
TYF released a statement late Thursday announcing that Büyükuncu’s contract had been annulled and a case had been opened at the Disciplinary Committee regarding derisive remarks allegedly made by the swimmer in relation to the body.
The annulment of his contract means Büyükuncu will be deprived of his monthly $5,000 salary, which was decreased from $10,000 late last month.
“Derya Büyükuncu has informed us of his desire to live and train in the United States of America. He said he could not afford it and asked for help, adding that he could not pay his rent and fee for a trainer and training pool,” the statement said. “He was given a monthly salary of $10,000 and the total amount of support given to him reached $113,000 in the last year.
It was also said that Büyükuncu’s participation to “Yok Böyle Dans,” the Turkish version of television show “Dancing with the Stars,” was another factor in the suspension of the contract.
“Derya Büyükuncu has been in Turkey since August 2010 and he refuses to work with Turkish national team trainers despite several offers. He also participated in a television contest during that time,” the statement said.
Another significant reason was Büyükuncu’s recent outburst against the federation’s decision to cut his salary in an interview published in the daily Hürriyet on Thursday.
“After he said, “And if they were as brave as me they would not cut my salary in half, they would cancel it completely,” we found it impossible to support him and a case in the Disciplinary Committee was opened,” the federation said.
It was reported last month that Büyükuncu deliberately skipped two of his three races at the World Short-Course Swimming Championships in Doha. TYF was fined 120 euros by FINA, the swimming world’s governing body, and the Turkish federation cut Büyükuncu’s salary by half as a punishment.
Büyükuncu was assigned to European Championships in late November and the World Championships in December, he said. “(An athlete) cannot usually cope with two tournaments in a period of three weeks.”
“I finished fifth in my meet at the European Championships and nobody called to congratulate me,” he said. “Then they assigned me to the World Championships without my knowledge. I said my main race would be the 200m, so I decided to skip the other races. The Turkish federation neglected to tell FINA about my withdrawal so they were fined.”
“But they reported it as a huge suspension, as if it were a 10-year ban from international competitions. It was only something about $100. It doesn’t matter, I can pay that,” he said. “I am looking ahead. I will participate to the 2012 Olympics. No matter what they do, they cannot stop me.”
“And if they were as brave as me they would not cut my salary in half, they would cancel it completely. So I see that they don’t have the guts that I do, not one percent of the guts I have.”
Büyükuncu, Turkey’s most active swimmer both on international and domestic levels, has been a regular at the Olympic Games since the 1992 Barcelona meet, but has never won a medal. His highlights include a silver medal in the 100m backstroke at the European Short-Course Championships in Lisbon in 1999 and a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke at both the World Short-Course Championships in Athens and the European Championships in Helsinki in 2000.
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