Ferenc Gruber's FAI Sporting License has been withdrawn by the FAI.  Ferenc, the Hungarian pilot involved in the matters referred to earlier, is not being allowed to fly in the 2009 Worlds despite the fact that his association has chosen him to fly for Hungary, because he now does not have a valid FAI Sporting License (as far as CIVL, the FAI, and the meet organizers are concerned).

Just to be clear about this. The national association is responsible for issuing FAI Sporting Licenses (Section 3.4.1 of the CIVL Sporting Code). Ferenc has an FAI Sporting License issued by the proper Hungarian aero sport association.

But the FAI (CIVL is a Sport Air Commission of the FAI) is empowered by its own rules (FAI Sporting CODE, General Section) to withdraw Sporting Licenses at its discretion (at least it appears that way of you only look at the Sporting Code). Here is what it says in section 8.1.6 of the FAI Sporting Code:

WITHDRAWAL OF SPORTING LICENCES. A Sporting Licence may be withdrawn by the FAI or the NAC that issued it.

There appears to be a process required by the FAI to withdraw a license. You can find the appropriate documents here. You'll find the relevant section in Chapter 6, page 20 of the By-laws. But here it appears (in contradiction to the Sporting Code) that it is up to the national aero association to deal with the matter, not the FAI.

There is also an appeals process, but in this case it would not happen in time to deal with the problem (although, it could have been engaged in much earlier and there appears to be plenty of warning).

I have a confidential letter from Max Bishop, FAI Secretary General, to the Hungarian association, dated October 30, 2008, asking them to withdraw his Sporting License. The Hungarian association has chosen to completely support Ferenc and not withdraw his license. They have sent a letter to Max Bishop stating their full support for Ferenc (I have seen a copy of the letter).

I also have a letter responding (not until the end of May) to Max Bishop. It is written by a Hungarian lawyer with not a great grasp of the English language.

The Hungarian association has protested here. They protest that the procedures in the By-laws were not followed. It is unclear to me that these procedures have to be followed (according the the Sporting Code). But it sure seems to me that from the By-laws they should have been followed and that the FAI doesn't have the right to withdraw a Sporting License only a national organization. The Sporting Code and the By-laws are in conflict here.