The AIBA has announced this afternoon that a number of its referees and judges would be taking no further part in the Rio Olympics.
The statement said: “Following recent judging decisions and after carrying out a thorough examination by the relevant commission, AIBA has decided to take immediate and appropriate actions.
That AIBA statement on expelled judges in full #OTBRio2016 pic.twitter.com/NizeLIlC25
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 17, 2016
“Since the beginning of the Olympic Games, AIBA has conducted 239 bouts. The AIBA R&J commission has reviewed all decisions and determined that less than a handful of the decisions were not at the level expected and consequently it has been decided in accordance with the AIBA R&J evaluation committee that the concerned referees and judges will no longer officiate at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”
However they added that: “In accordance with AIBA rules the result of all the bouts will stand.”
The organisation has come under fire in recent days after a number of controversial decisions.
Michael Conlan was ruled to have lost the bantamweight quarter-final yesterday, despite most commentators believing he had won the fight, and said afterwards: “I’m never fighting for AIBA again. They’re cheating b**tards. They’re paying everybody.”
A very angry Michael Conlan pic.twitter.com/VInn7CUNo4
— Graham Healy (@Healycycles) August 16, 2016
Conlan’s decision came one day after a controversial verdict in the men’s heavyweight final went the way of another Russian, Evgeny Tischenko.
Despite the Kazakh having appeared to dominate the bout, the three judges found in favour of Tischenko, and the decision was met with boos and jeers from the predominantly Brazilian crowd.
In a particular embarrassment for AIBA, the bout was watched at ringside by International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.
Ireland’s Michael Gallagher was one of the ringside judges for the heavyweight final bout. It is unclear whether he is one of the officials who have been sanctioned.
The five ringside judges for Conlan’s bout – from which three scores are randomly chosen – hailed from Brazil, Canada, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Poland respectively.
The controversy comes at a particularly difficult time for AIBA, which is pressing ahead with its plans to allow fully professional boxers to participate in the Games.
Embarrassingly, despite pushing through a rule change earlier this year which was designed to tempt star names to compete in Rio, only three established professionals turned up – and all three crashed out early.
The rule change effectively means boxing has gone from a position of strength in the Olympic programme to the sport which, more than any other, is bereft of the most available big names.
The move away from computer scoring to the professional, “10 point must” system has also been criticised for being too rigid and less transparent.
The AIBA statement also came out strongly in defence of the integrity of the organisation.
“With regard to corruption, we would like to strongly restate that unless tangible proof is put forward, not rumours, we will continue to use any means, including legal or disciplinary actions to protect our sport and its R&J community whose integrity is constantly put into question.
“The organisation will not be deterred by subjective judgements made by discontented parties. We welcome all parties to come forward and provide evidence in order to take appropriate and immediate action.”
