SVT Sport was able to reveal last week that the Gotland and Stockholm Athletics Association has chosen not to nominate Johan Storåkers for a new period as chairman of the Swedish Athletics Association.
The reason is that last year they discovered that Storåkers during his nine-year period as chairman of the Stockholm Athletics Association received more than SEK 600,000 in compensation - without the knowledge of the rest of the board, and despite the fact that the chairmanship is basically non-profit.
- From the district's side, we want a different and more transparent leadership, and that is what is the basis for why we do not have confidence in Johan as chairman, the current chairman Marianne Mæhle Schmidt explained.
"Short notice"
Now SVT Sport can reveal that Storåkers, from 2015 onwards, stated "Confidential" as a basis for the invoices he submitted to the Stockholm Athletics Association.
When SVT Sport contacts him to ask why he wanted to keep the data secret, he claims that the purpose was not to keep secret what he had done.
- The head of operations had a mandate to remunerate people without it being raised by the board, and also had the right to determine the fee level.
And then it was the case that the level of fees would not be passed on, and that was the word choice itself.
But in retrospect, I think it might have been mispronounced, he says.
Why should it not be passed on?
- Because it was just that all fees, for everyone who was paid, we had the order that it was the business manager, the one who paid the fees and the person in question who had information about the fee level.
It applied to me but it also applied to others.
According to information to SVT Sport, however, only Storåker's invoices have been marked as confidential.
In other cases, it has been clear what they apply to.
Why did it happen then?
- We (Storåkers and the operations manager, editor's note) had a regular dialogue about what needed to be done, and it was very different things and often at short notice.
Therefore, the dialogue was conducted orally.
But in retrospect, I have learned that it was wrong, and that it should have been more transparent and transparent, says Storåkers, and continues:
- If there was a similar scenario in the future, I would have been much more transparent and open.
I've learned a lesson for life.
The lawyer does not believe the explanation
In the investigation that the Stockholm Athletics Association appointed to investigate whether Storåkers committed a crime in connection with the payments, the internal practice of confidential compensation levels has been presented as an explanation.
However, the lawyer who carried it out did not see it as credible.
"The explanation appears to be an ex post construction and leaves something to be desired," the lawyer writes in the investigation.
- I must have respect for that.
We had a lot of oral communication.
And that happened a few years ago, and you do not remember everything.
I have tried to be as honest and open as possible about what examples of information there were.
But I am humble both in the face of views from the lawyer and others and have, as I said, learned one thing and will act differently, says Storåkers, and adds:
- And in acting differently, it is about having a more written basis.
Had a similar scenario arisen, I would have acted differently.
ARCHIVE: Storåkers wants to investigate qualifying limits (January 3):
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Middle-distance runner Lovisa Lindh passed the Olympic qualifying limit but was not selected for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Photo: Bildbyrån.