Arshad Nadeem coach Salman Iqbal Butt's lifetime ban overturned by Pakistan Sports Board

Arshad Nadeem became first Pakistani in history to win an Olympic medal in athletics at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

An adjudicator of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) overturned the lifetime ban imposed on Arshad Nadeem‘s coach, Salman Iqbal Butt on Monday.

Notably, The Pakistan Amateur Athletics Federation (PAAF) had banned Butt on October 12, but the latter challenged the decision, saying it was without jurisdiction or legal basis.

A month-long legal fiasco began when Butt was questioned by the PSB and PAAF for the poor performance of Nadeem at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Nadeem finished 10th in the men’s javelin throw event with a best attempt of 82.75m.

In his response, Salman Iqbal Butt disclosed that the PAAF didn’t offer any financial help to Arshad Nadeem for his training and recovery from an injury, and had to reach out to his friend for funding.

Moreover, PAAF found Butt to have violated the constitution as president of the Punjab Athletics Association (PAA). As per them, he held the elections without proper constitutional procedures and timelines.

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As a result, the enquiry committee recommended the ban on Salman Iqbal Butt and he was barred from taking up any coaching role and administrative role for life.

However, after the detailed proceedings, senator Pervaiz Rashid ruled the order in favor of Butt. The 75-year-old cited major lapses in the federation’s actions, as no inquiry report was provided to Butt and was denied the right to a hearing or defense.

“The lifetime ban has no legal effect and is declared void,” the order stated.

The adjudicator also instructed PAAF to immediately “withdraw all adverse communications” sent to the World Athletics and Asian Athletics bodies, which damaged Salman Iqbal Butt’s reputation.

Also Read: Arshad Nadeem defends his gold at Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 despite fitness struggles

Rashid also declared that PAAF has no jurisdiction over the elections held by the PAA, as it is supervised by the Punjab Sports Board and Punjab Olympic Association.

Arshad Nadeem recently lauded Salman Iqbal Butt

Arshad Nadeem has brought laurels to Pakistan under the supervision of his coach, Salman Iqbal Butt in recent years. He secured a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and followed it up with a silver medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Nadeem etched his name into the history books at the Paris Olympics 2024 by becoming the first Pakistani to win an Olympic medal in Athletics. He won the gold medal after setting a new Olympic record of 92.97 in the final.

Earlier this month, Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games with his best attempt of 83.05m. After the competition, the 28-year-old praised Butt for helping him reach the pinnacle of the sport. He said:

“All the biggest titles I’ve won after the Tokyo Olympics was because of my coach Salman Iqbal Butt; he’s worked hard on me.”

“Under his supervision, I’ve won some of the biggest titles and broken international records,” he added.

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