• Official to file lawsuit ahead of 25 April AGM
• SL at the mercy of IOC, OCA 

The upcoming election of office-bearers and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) could face another delay, while the country itself may run the risk of being suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the face of a lawsuit looming on the horizon.

The NOCSL election for the 2026–’30 four-year term is set to be held on Saturday (25) at 4 p.m. at the Olympic House premises, with the eight-year term of current President Suresh Subramaniam having officially ended on 27 December 2025.

However, the NOCSL has officially sought an extension of its current Executive Board’s term until the end of this month from the IOC and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in order to facilitate the election process and accommodate a forensic audit covering the 10-year period from 2016 to 2026.

Against this backdrop, Wing Commander (Retd) Chandana Liyanage was suspended by the NOCSL’s Ethics Committee on 10 April for a period of two years – till April 2028 – from all NOCSL-linked activities and affiliated Olympic sports federations.

This was following an alleged breach of communication protocols under Article 17 of the NOCSL Constitution by Liyanage, with the findings of the Ethics Committee being reviewed by the Executive Board ahead of being approved, it is learnt. 

It had also been formally probed at the Sri Lanka National Arbitration Centre (SLNAC). However, the key issue remains the time taken by the Ethics Committee to issue its recommendation close to the IOC/OCA ultimatum.

The caveat to it, however, lies elsewhere, according to Liyanage. When contacted by The Sunday Morning Sports, the now-suspended official from the basketball sphere maintained that the actions of the Ethics Committee were a direct violation of the provisions of the NOCSL Constitution.

“The Ethics Committee has no overriding authority to hand out punishments to officials of member federations willy-nilly,” he claimed.

“Such recommendations have to be tabled before the NOCSL General Assembly, and only with a two-thirds majority could any such decision be ratified. None of that process took place in my case. Therefore, after the New Year break, I intend to file a lawsuit over this gross injustice,” Liyanage charged. 

Liyanage further pointed out that neither the NOCSL President nor the Executive Committee had a mandate to either expel or suspend any member as referenced in Article 26 of the NOCSL Constitution.

He added that the Executive Committee could award a maximum of a warning as referenced in Article 26 of the governing body’s Constitution, and that suspension of any official was only possible by the General Assembly with a two-thirds majority as stipulated in Article 26.

Liyanage has been alleged to have unlawfully, unethically, and irregularly accepted the payment of per diems for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2020 Olympic Games held in 2021, and 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The NOCSL Ethics Committee, headed by President’s Counsel Dinal Phillips, also consists of Attorney-at-Law Chinthaka Mendis, Dr. Seevali Jayawickreme, and Attorney-at-Law Ashan Stanislaus.

The IOC and OCA have officially conveyed to the NOCSL that the 25 April deadline for the election of its office-bearers will be final, and have stressed that it will not be extended further under any circumstances.

In such a scenario, if Liyanage were to resort to legal action to seek redress over his 24-month-long punishment, a decision given by the Judiciary to put on hold the NOCSL election could well endanger the membership of Sri Lanka with the global controlling body.

In the face of an indefinite suspension of Sri Lanka’s membership by the IOC and OCA, the country’s athletes will be forced to compete in forthcoming global sporting showpieces such as the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games under a white flag.