The South African Olympic Committee fired track president Leonard Chuene yesterday for his handling of the Caster Semenya case and financial misconduct.

The committee also said Chuene would be barred from holding any top sports positions for seven years.

Chuene did not answer his phone and his lawyer did not immediately return a call requesting comment.

The committee announced earlier this week that its own investigation had determined Chuene, suspended as president of Athletics South Africa since 2009, was guilty of misappropriating funds, evading taxes and running the track body poorly.

Semenya won the 800 metres at the world championships in 2009, just after the IAAF announced it was investigating whether she was eligible to compete as a woman. Chuene’s decision to allow her to run exposed her to a media storm.

Norman Arendse, the lawyer who conducted the probe for the Olympic committee, said he had found evidence against Chuene of “rampant abuse of ASA resources, an abuse of power and authorities, self-aggrandizement, greed and, quite frankly, corruption.” The probe included an audit of ASA finances that found the organization under Chuene went from having 500,000 rand ($69,000) in the bank in 2005 to being 7 million rand ($970,000) in debt in 2008.

Arendse found that questions about Semenya’s gender had led Chuene to arrange for tests, which were done a day before she headed to Berlin for the world championships. But at meeting with IAAF medical officials in Berlin, Chuene said no gender tests had been conducted in South Africa, and she was allowed to run on the basis of that assurance.

Chuene also was quoted as telling international track officials that if they refused to let Semenya run, they would face political backlash and a possible court case.

“There can be little doubt that the conduct of Mr. Chuene in particular was unacceptable and that it brought ASA and athletics in this country into disrepute, and that the dignity of Ms. Semenya was violated as a result,” Arendse said.