I Got BANNED by WAF (and East vs West)

With the recent controversy surrounding bans and contracts with regard to East vs West, WAF, IFA, and PAL, I feel it's time to weigh in and give my perspective on the matter.
I will tell you guys exactly why, I'm banned, who's to blame, and what are the alternatives moving forward.
Paul Italia / Sean Hancock's video ▶ • BANNED By ENGIN???
Yordan's interview ▶ • Be Strong Armwrestling...
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Visit my website ▶ www.eastsidearmwrestling.com/
Support me on Ko-fi ▶ ko-fi.com/eastsideaw
Support me on Patreon ▶ / eastsidearmwrestling
Get Eastside Merch ▶ www.etsy.com/sg-en/shop/Easts...
Follow me on Instagram ▶ / gregyeoyo
For business/sponsorships/collaborations ▶ [e-mail]
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Timestamps:
0:00 - This is a personal topic
0:48 - Ban wars
1:36 - History of IFA vs WAF
2:34 - Yordan Tsonev's account
2:57 - My history with WAF
3:33 - Bias from Sean Hancock
4:24 - IFA is not perfect
5:02 - East vs West Asian Qualifiers (Singapore)
6:10 - Why am I banned?
6:43 - Is Engin to blame?
7:40 - How I responded
8:41 - What has PAL done?
9:45 - Favoritism & biases
10:39 - The future of Asian armwrestling
11:00 - A glimmer of hope
11:40 - More private promotions
12:33 - Armwrestling & MMA/UFC
13:20 - Closing words
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Music:
Kronicle - Chill Noons • Kronicle - Chill Noons...
#armwrestling #singaporearmwrestling #eastsidearmwrestling #eastside #armsport #training #larrywheels #schoolboy #michaeltodd #devonlarratt #deniscyplenkov #uac

[@chrzoc]

Excellent breakdown. It’s so frustrating. The political machinations of the WAF/IFA battle are one thing. But when an organization (WAF) wields as much power as to influence the participation in PROFESSIONAL leagues when we’re trying to grow the sport is unacceptable. Having athletes banned from participating in EvW because of the Tammany Hall tactics of WAF with their standing in the Turkish Arm Wrestling Federation is outrageous. Athletes should be able to pull wherever and whenever they want, barring any pre-existing exclusive contract. Not be invited to participate in EvW because of pulling at an IFA event in the past is completely ridiculous. I hope more athletes and influential people keep this topic at the forefront, as it needs to be exposed broadly and condemned. WAF needs to cut out the racketeering and be put in their place.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Thank you for voicing out your sentiments on this. I'm touched to hear that there are others out there like yourself who understand the gravity of the situation and the absolute necessity to remedy the problem.

[@chrzoc]

@@EastsideArmWrestling Absolutely. If enough light is shined on the issue, I think it would offend a large portion of the fans that just aren’t aware how many athletes it’s affected. And then hopefully we can shame them into changing their ways. Denying people exposure and ability to earn (and compete!) because of your own political/business agenda just doesn’t sit right with me. 🍻 buddy

[@LagiaArm]

We need some community-wide strike or something like that. At the moment there are not enough voices to make ASSen care

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

@@LagiaArm Yea, and it's unlikely that that's gonna happen cuz no one wants to step on toes

[@justaguyfromreddit]

freedom for Greg

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

😔✊ Greg lives matter

[@levansaginashviliskidney8726]

Canalisation maderfaker. Get out of your grandmother's basement.

[@ArmwrestlingLokomotiv96]

Greg, thank you for speaking freely on this very important topic regarding WAF rulership and the consequences it brings to the sport. Most people don't get that it's not about the "few" banned athletes, it's a thing that affects everyone, even the regular viewer. We see that armwrestling is getting bigger for sure, but still haven't reached the desired state it deserves. If all federations and leagues start working together for such goal, it may in fact become a reality and everyone who loves this sport will benefit. It will require a lot more videos like this one, and more people to speak their minds freely, but still majority're unaware or indifferent.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Ye, brother. After talking with many of my fans, friends, fellow arm wrestlers, it is shocking to me how few of them are aware of the situation our sport is in. Most of them just the the big names on the cards like EvW, KOTT, and think everything is great and this is the best time ever. The truth is, thousands of pullers are affected by these unfair restrictions by corrupt individuals and there is no way forward unless something is done - not by just 1 or 2 people, but as a whole community.

[@strongheadn1754]

Strugle ewrywhere

[@yoinkedits123]

After i watched this vid, i get it why Engin is so stressed

[@LagiaArm]

Just remember. You cant spell Assen without "ass"

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Silly that people are pointing the fingers are Engin, Igor, etc., while the real crooks are hiding away and most people don’t even know who they are or what their names are.

[@HandelandJ]

Actually, there was another WAF split in the early 2000’s… after a few years, one of the organizations died. I don’t know many details, but this is the second split…. I’m proud to be banned!!! (But it so dumb lol) Also, it’s crazy none of the IFA medalists were invited to the top-8 78kg! Especially Ji-Sueng, who is unquestionably more deserving than some on the list.

[@SwedenArmwrestlingTelevision]

Or Johannes Andersson, Robert Rodin for that matter...

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Yes, heard a little about that too… sad to see the aw world being fractured more and more. And yeah, the selections for top-8 are ridiculous. Sure, there are definitely way deserving names on the list (e.g. Cvetan), but come on, some of the guys there aren’t even in the right weight class or haven’t even competed the past 2 worlds 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@HandelandJ]

@@EastsideArmWrestling100%!!! Idk how the names were decided.

[@HandelandJ]

@@SwedenArmwrestlingTelevision for sure johannes since he won IFA Europeans last year. Do you know why johannes and Rodin didn’t attend worlds last year?

[@SwedenArmwrestlingTelevision]

@@HandelandJ Money related issue. Was super expensive to go

[@IkeDolivo]

I follow you because you are one of the most creative and intelligent content creators in the arm wrestling community. I genuinely believe that if you find a way to overcome the current obstacles, you will ultimately succeed. Expect push back, people in power are afraid of smart people; they much rather work with people they feel they can manipulate. 💪❤

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Thank you for your continued support brother. Even though things may look bad, we still have to hold on to hope. We can’t let the crooked win. As a community, as arm wrestlers, as lovers of the sport, I believe we still hold some power. I believe the day where the arm wrestling world is united will come. Stay strong my friend 👊

[@levansaginashvilifromthefuture]

Totally not reasonable 😢

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Some men can’t be reasoned with. Sad reality that we have to live in.

[@user-sam_drake]

You must create a petition, we would sign it immediately!

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Haha, I’m not sure how much that would help, to be honest. Maybe a nice gesture though.

[@SwedenArmwrestlingTelevision]

Welcome to the club! Plus I pissed off the general secretary enough for him to not like what i have to say about their Euroarm 2019 event, so for me to compete under WAF is unlikely, until I'm begging on my knees on stage for my "misbehaving manners"😂😂 And yes, he literally said that to my friend that was defending me against him 😅

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

That’s absolutely despicable. I pray that one day soon, the aw world may be united again and free from these individuals that only serve to destroy our sport. You are doing great things for the community, Krigge. Keep pushing forward ✊

[@USS_Liberty_never_forget]

Thank you for addressing this topic

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

It was shocking to me how many people weren’t aware of it. It just had to be done.

[@plotrecapped6819]

Hey Greg, just curious if this ban would still apply to you if you were the mindaugas or alan zoloev of your 80kg class. Surely Engin would set up a match when it's the only match that matters for world rank 1 ??

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

It sure would. When Russia was banned, Engin had his hands tied as well. Unfortunately, double standards do still exist. Mindaugas was given the chance to sign a contract that said he wouldn’t participate in future IFA events; I wasn’t given this option.

[@zacharycollierAW-PL]

What does WAF think they are accomplishing by banning individual athletes that participated in a competing federation? It seems, to me at least, if they really wanted to out do their competition they should try to elevate the stature and prizes of their own event to give people a reason to go to their federation. Banning people only hurts the sport. I'm so sorry you and your fellow competitors are at the whims of this ridiculous beurucratic system that should have no place in the sport of Armwrestling.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Sadly, it probably all boils down to monetary gain for them. Forcing people to be a part of their federation contractually allows them to charge membership fees, impose fines, etc.

[@zacharycollierAW-PL]

@@EastsideArmWrestling That's such a shame.

[@yoinkedits123]

I know right, like the popularity of AW is way more important that MONEY lmao. Money doesnt buy happiness, it creates conflict like this one sometimes.

[@MrEspey]

WAF actually split in 1997 and there were two World Championships for several years starting in 1998. A lot of the reasons for the split are the same. One organization eventually prevailed.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Ah yes, I heard of that too, Ryan. Having lived through that era yourself, I’m sure you have firsthand experience on all the bureaucratic nonsense as well. I pray the day the aw world becomes united again comes soon.

[@TipikGamer]

i hope you guys fix the problems. Greetings from Türkiye.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Thank you my friend from Türkiye. As athletes and fans, we all hate to see this happen. I wish this will end soon.

[@dankiusarmwrestlingTaranBroad]

Justice for greg

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

😔 Greg lives matter ✊🏿

[@ArmwrestlingExxplained]

We have the same problems with some of our athletes.... same with waf certificate, its all just about money and who has better contacts💀

[@ArmwrestlingExxplained]

*connections

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Hopefully the corrupt gets removed somehow

[@tsb555]

What if athletes thst did not participate in IFA frkm Singapore, could they then host EvW?

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

I was originally supposed to host EvW Qualifiers as an independent entity, not affiliated to IFA at all, but it seems like that didn’t matter to WAF. They went ahead and sanctioned the entire country instead.

[@aleksanderlusifer5917]

Thank you for your time to make this video, I hope you get unbanned soon

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Thank you Aleksander. It was a difficult topic to talk about, but it had to be done. The world has to be aware of this.

[@aleksanderlusifer5917]

@@EastsideArmWrestling Yes of course , it's so unfair

[@drunkonkerosene]

Nice with a balanced view of the sad fact that people in charge cant agree.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Thanks man. I really did try to stay balanced in my recount (obviously I’d have my own individual biases). The people have to know that this problem runs deep.

[@ChrisJaesun]

Do you think that if East vs West has an event in NA, then IFA athletes can compete there?

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Nope, they won’t be allowed to compete even in an NA event

[@kodybyrdarmwrestling1767]

Great video as always. However, don't forget that PAL and IFA are separate organizations. So while I understand the comment that none of the IFA world champs are invited to zloty, PAL does their own thing. Not an IFA related decision.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

I do understand that, but I’m also aware that like it or not, the organizations have a soft influence on each other. For example, we have Sean Hancock who is an IFA master ref, but also the head PAL rep in USA. And another master ref, Zil Fadli, who is the PAL head referee. And let’s not forget the IFA Vice-President is Anna Mazurenko.

[@muhammetali7814]

Thumbnail is perfect...😂😂😂

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Haha, injecting a little humor into an otherwise sad topic.

[@muhammetali7814]

@@EastsideArmWrestling 😞😞

[@shakya00]

As someone mentioned why then Schoolboy participated/is invited at EvW ? Or we can talk about Aymeric Pradines who wasn't in good terms with WAF and yet also participated in EvW. It's weird that they just ban you for having participated in the last IFA without notice

[@mcfarvo]

Schoolboy is too "popular" to ban for the same reason they will punish less popular pullers like Greg

[@HandelandJ]

I don’t think Schoolboy ever competed in IFA?

[@nuclearnadal8850]

Schoolboy is WAF puller.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Schoolboy never competed in IFA, his brother has though. But even that being the case, yes, there are exceptions too. Mindaugas Tarasitis and Kamil Jablonski and probably 2 of the bigger names who have pulled IFA world events and have been allowed to compete at EvW. That’s because they were given the chance to sign a contract saying they will never compete at an IFA-affiliated event again.

[@lincolntan609]

Greg. I have quite a painful wrist pain especially when i do wrist exercises like heavy wrist curls for arm wrestling. I think i injure my inner wrist bone/musle quite badly😢. How long should i rest for a full recovery or should i just continue training and get used to pain? I hope u can reply 🙏

[@sebastiansullivan4770]

See a sports physiotherapist with good online ratings. Rest for a period of time like 2-4 weeks and then build up very slowly. Track your progress in a journal and be honest with yourself.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

I’m not your coach, nor your doctor, so you shouldn’t be taking advice from me about this. As the other comment by Sebastian said, see a professional about this.

[@lincolntan609]

@@sebastiansullivan4770 ok thanks

[@lincolntan609]

@@EastsideArmWrestling ok thanks. Btw may I ask what is your pr for riser lift roughly?

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

@@lincolntan609 Devon style? I think 31kg

[@NayNooot]

Isn’t schoolboy pull at ifa event? And why he is still got a match at evw?

[@qbendorama]

If I am not mistaken, his brother Alex is the one who joined the IFA. The schoolboy just joined after pull sessions.

[@HandelandJ]

Schoolboy attended IFA, but only as a spectator. I guess that doesn’t give you a ban.

[@nuclearnadal8850]

Schoolboy is WAF puller. His older bro pulling at IFA

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Schoolboy never competed in IFA, his brother has though. But even that being the case, yes, there are exceptions too. Mindaugas Tarasitis and Kamil Jablonski and probably 2 of the bigger names who have pulled IFA world events and have been allowed to compete at EvW. That’s because they were given the chance to sign a contract saying they will never compete at an IFA-affiliated event again.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Yes, I know, it was a typo, all good.

[@yoinkedits123]

We should def get Konkreet Albow, PEP, and Armwrestling Newz to watch this. To talk about all of this

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

🤣 I don’t think they care about this

[@denebstudios.8018]

Maybe Pradeep would be interested in covering it. The other two I don't think so.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

@@denebstudios.8018 Unfortunately it can be a sensitive topic and some people have very strong opinions about it. Funny story, even Engin watched my video and at first he was like "what is this??" But then he watched all the way through and he understood my viewpoint and I earned his respect.

[@JamesStewartarmwrestling]

Freedom!!!!!!!

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🗡️✊✊✊

[@riturajkumar8774]

bro how to participate in IFA or WAF

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

You have to contact your country’s federation for the appropriate procedure to qualify. Usually it is via nationals in your country.

[@Leonard_Bathory]

Thats so stupid

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

I know, all this shit shouldn’t even be a thing for such a small sport like armwrestling, but unfortunately, it is.

[@JackalJaws]

Welcome to the banned club. Been on the naughty list since 2022

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Checking for the coals in my Christmas socks

[@parkerkimber2446]

Free Greg!

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

✊ arm wrestlers of the world demand justice!

[@ja-cobin]

good to hear Engin not at fault - Free Greg - Ban the Bans

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Unfortunately, as big as EvW is, Engin still does not have enough power to influence the changes we need.

[@donttreadonme306]

I'm sorry brother, communism shouldn't be a part of our beautiful sport God bless you brother

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Corrupt individuals, unfortunately, exist everywhere.

[@hugoleterrier3098]

I think everyone had to be liberal letting their athletes to compete anywhere then the sport will grow even more

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Can’t agree more.

[@mcfarvo]

WAF? EvW? WTF?!

[@mcfarvo]

I figured it was pulling IFA, but that still sucks

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Haha, WTF indeed my friend

[@BeardArmwrestler]

Let the Greg out 😭😭

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

😔✊ I will wait as long as it takes to make armwrestling united again

[@fredericarm4975]

hello, normally I never post on forums. I am sorry you were banned. If I am correct, Singapore Federation will join WAF together with other South Asian Federations. If this is correct, join this Federation and sign the WAF document. Basically you only need to tell you will not compete at IFA events again. The other examples you give in your video are from internal conflicts in Bulgaria . I am personnaly against this policy of suspending armwrestlers, but up to now, I could not make it change. If you have direct contact with Engin, ask for advice from him. Hopefully you will have big future in armwrestling , and come with your team to WORLDARM 2024 in Moldova !!

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

My friend, it is not so easy. I have been trying to contact WAF for 2-3 months now, and they keep ignoring me. Even Engin tried and they are ignoring him.

[@painless4785]

In your case it might not be Engin's fault- but telling Levan not to go on Paul Italia's podcast is definitely Engin's fault.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Fair enough viewpoint.

[@denasafavian6118]

They said it was because you use the word "beasts". No man or woman should associate under that evil words terminology.

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

I’ll try to use “breasts” instead next time

[@saxon8981]

hahahahahahah well deserved

[@9fallen9one9]

Weird comment

[@LagiaArm]

Come on man , make your troll attempt at least somewhat funny

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

Why is it well-deserved?

[@levansaginashvilifromthefuture]

@@EastsideArmWrestling some people comment just to get a reaction. So best to avoid them

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

@@levansaginashvilifromthefuture Understood, thanks future levan

[@saxon8981]

you are to blame for being banned

[@justaguyfromreddit]

There is no waf federation where he lives tho

[@EastsideArmWrestling]

You are right, I banned myself, how silly of me.

[@saxon8981]

@@EastsideArmWrestling skill issue

[@yoinkedits123]

​@@saxon8981skill issue