On 27 March 2017, FIDE stated through its website that Ilyumzhinov had announced his resignation, and that the extraordinary meeting will be held next month to review and accept the resignation. Ilyumzhinov later denied his resignation in Russian media, as did his assistant when contacted by Chess.com; FIDE executive director Nigel Freeman replied that Ilyumzhinov had verbally resigned during the Presidential Board Meeting in Athens, and called an Extraordinary Presidential Board Meeting to discuss the issue. At the meeting, it was confirmed that Ilyumzhinov had not formally resigned, however he was criticized for making misleading statements to the media.