Boxing Referee Expelled From 2012 London Olympics


A boxing referee has been expelled from the 2012 London Olympics by the International Amateur Boxing Association.

According to the Associated Press, boxing Referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov from Turkmenistan was expelled after he failed to stop a bout when fighter Magomed Abdulhamidov was knocked down 6-times in the final round by Japan’s Satoshi Shimizu. Shimizu ended up losing the match after all three rounds were scored.

AIBA President Wu Ching-Kuo said:

“I deeply regret that we had to take these decisions… However, our main concern has been and will always be the protection of the integrity and fair-play of our competitions. I will take all possible steps to reinforce this. There is only one truth and we always get to the truth.”

The result wasn’t the only strange thing about the bantamweight bought. The Washington Post notes that at one point during the match Meretnyyazov actually helped Abdulhamidov with his head gear. Meretnyyazov was accused of fixing the match by the Japanese team and the result was eventually overturned by the AIBA.

A second referee, Frank Scharmach of Germany, was also suspended by the AIBA for five days after two controversial decisions.

Boxing isn’t the only sport that has seen controversy during the 2012 London Olympics. Eight badminton players were expelled earlier this week for purposelessly losing matches.

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