AIBA sidelines all Olympic judges and referees

There is an investigation being conducted after widespread calls of corruption in Rio

Ireland’s Michael Conlan shouts at the judges following his defeat to Vladimir Nikitin of Russia during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Photo: Dan Sheridan/Inpho
Ireland’s Michael Conlan shouts at the judges following his defeat to Vladimir Nikitin of Russia during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Photo: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

The Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) have sidelined all 36 referees and judges used at the Rio Olympics until an investigation has been concluded.

The boxing tournament at the Games in August was embroiled in controversy over the new ‘10 point must’ scoring system, with allegations by some beaten boxers that they were ‘robbed’ of victory.

Irish boxer Michael Conlan accused AIBA of corruption "from the core right to the top" after losing in the bantamweight quarter-finals to the Russian Vladimir Nikiti.

Meanwhile the father of Gary Antuanne Russell didn’t hold back after he lost his light middleweight quarter-final to Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov in a split-decision.

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“He got robbed, this is fucked up,” shouted his father Gary Russell Sr said. With Floyd Mayweather Jr, who was at the Olympic boxing venue in Rio, adding shortly after: “Gary Russell was robbed – clearly, clearly”.

“While the majority of the boxing competition in Rio 2016 was received very positively ... a small number of decisions under debate indicated that further reforms in the AIBA R&J [referee and judging] procedures were necessary,” AIBA said in a statement. “Initial decisions were made on-site during Rio 2016 to ensure the smooth running of the rest of the competition. The results of a specific R&J investigation, currently underway, will allow AIBA to fully assess what action needs to be taken.

“In the meantime, it has been decided that all 36 R&Js that were used at the Olympic Games will not officiate at any AIBA event until the investigation reaches its conclusion, along with further immediate measures adopted by the commissions.“

AIBA dropped a number of unidentified judges and referees during the competition, after finding that “less than a handful” of the decisions from 239 bouts reviewed were not at the level expected.

It also reassigned its French executive director Karim Bouzidi to a new role.