Board member Antonio Urso, president of the European Weightlifting Federation and one of the sport's biggest anti-corruption advocates, resigned shortly after the IMF elected Britain's Mike Irani as acting chairman - the third in three days.

"The reason for the decision is that I no longer share the board's political line, which I consider crazy and destructive for future weightlifting," the Italian wrote in an email to all board members, according to the site Insidethegames.

Clean up after Aján

In 2017, Urso challenged incumbent President Tamás Aján for the chairmanship of the IMF, but lost.

Perhaps due to the vote purchase of Aján, who earlier this year was forced to resign after ruling the union with an iron fist for 44 years.

An investigation showed that the Hungarian bought votes, hid 40 positive doping tests and was suspected of corruption when there was a lack of coverage for almost SEK 100 million in the IWF.

The American Ursula Papandrea was appointed acting chairman with the task of cleaning up after Aján.

She had the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which earlier this week said that weightlifting is close to being excluded from the Paris 2024 Olympic program because the reform is too slow.

On Tuesday, she was fired because she was too open and honest with the IOC.

"I have always been very honest with the IOC about the IMF's intentions and actions," she told Insidethegames.

Prevented reforms

She said her own union had thwarted reforms, stopped independent specialists and lied about its intentions.

- I have heard some of them say that "we just need to tell the IOC that we should introduce reforms, without really doing so", Papandrea said.

When Papandrea was ousted, Vice-President Intarat Yodbangtoey, Thailand, took over as acting chairman.

However, there was an outcry over the appointment and Yodbangtoey was forced to leave the post after only 48 hours.

Thailand has had many doping cases in weightlifting and has been stopped from participating in the Olympics next year.

In the investigation into Aján, Yodbangtoey has also been seen as closely linked to the former chairman and is accused in the report of being the one who made the vote purchases for Aján.

When is a new chairman elected?

Right now, the International Weightlifting Federation is led by the British Mike Irani.

Seven out of 18 board members come from nations that are banned from the Tokyo Olympics next year or have had their quota of active cut due to doping.

What is happening now is unclear.

Iran's own alliance, the British, said the other day that they wanted the entire IMF board to resign.

A dozen member nations have said they want to bring forward the presidential election, scheduled to take place at the congress in March, until December to save the sport's Olympic future.

Others, led by the United States, want the IOC to take control of the sport as a way out of the crisis.