Cuban pops ref, ban could follow

[HUSKER 37]

Kicking and screaming: Cuban pops ref, ban could follow

Kicking and screaming: Cuban pops ref, ban could follow

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Enlarge By Issei Kato, Reuters

 

The kick that could earn a lifetime ban: Angel Matos unloads on referee Chakir Chelbat after issued a disqualification to the Cuban athlete in the bronze-medal match.

 

 

 

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Yahoo! Buzz Digg Newsvine Reddit FacebookWhat's this?By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY

BEIJING — The referee needed stitches in his lip after being kicked in the face Saturday by an angry loser in the semifinals of Olympic taekwondo. In addition to seeking a lifetime ban of the fighter from Cuba, the Seoul-based World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) said it may press legal charges.

Earlier in the day, a two-time Olympic champion from China had a victory overturned after video review. On Friday, two-time Olympic champion Steven Lopez of the USA filed a protest in vain after he lost his chance at gold after a controversial point deduction.

 

 

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Taekwondo, a kicking and punching sport with Korean roots, finished with turmoil in its third Olympics as a medal sport.

 

"I feel this can be part of our growing pain," said Yang Jin Suk, WTF secretary general.

 

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Olympics | China | International Olympic Committee | South Korean | Cuban | Hall | Steven Lopez | USA Taekwondo

"Yes, we are literally a young sport in the Olympics.? We are still going through infancy.? But we're not asking for mercy because we are a baby.? We will overcome all the difficulties."

 

The incident involving 31-year-old Cuban fighter Angel Valodia Matos occurred following his loss in a 176-pound semifinal to Cha Dongmin of South Korea.

 

The referee, identified on the match report as Klay Thomas of Switzerland, declared the South Korean the winner after Matos did not come out to fight after a 60-second injury timeout. There is a 60-second limit on injury time.

 

Thomas signaled Cha as the winner. Then came the kick from Matos, Olympic champion in 2000.

 

"(The) right side of the (referee's) lip required stitches to deal with that wound inflicted by the undesirable individual," said Yang.

 

In a press release, the WTF said the fighter and an unnamed Cuban coach "approached the center referee and the corner judge in the competition area and physically attacked them."

 

The WTF, which said the International Olympic Committee would have to approve any sanctions, said it would seek them against the fighter and the coach "such as but not limited to exclusion" from future WTF events.

 

Addressing the conduct of the fighter, Yang said, "We will look to see what legal action we could impose onto the individual separate from the International Olympic Committee."

 

The South Korean, who went on to win the gold, said the referee's decision was correct. "The Cuban was given one minute to recover himself, and he did not," said Cha. "So rules are rules."

 

Earlier Saturday, the result of a quarterfinal was reversed, taking a win away from a two-time Olympic women's champion Chen Zhong of China.

 

Initially, Chen was a 1-0 winner over Sarah Stevenson of Great Britain in the 148-pound division.

 

"She didn't win. I won and that's it," Stevenson said afterward.

 

Stevenson said she landed a two-point kick to Chen's face in the first round without getting a score. "I felt my foot in her face," she said.

 

The British team filed a protest. It was upheld by the event's Competition Supervisory Board, which cited an "error in judgment." So Stevenson, not Chen, advanced to the semifinals. Stevenson lost in the semifinal but went on to win a bronze.

 

Yang said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the reaction of the Chinese federation to the reversal. "They gave the WTF permission to make a decision without great pressure," he said.

 

After winning her bronze, Stevenson said, "Things have to change. Judges can't take people's dreams away like that."

 

Gary Hall, team leader of Great Britain's taekwondo squad, said it cost $300 to file the protest.

 

"Which I've got to get back because we won," he said. "We really, really forced the issue."

 

Friday, USA Taekwondo filed an unsuccessful protest, arguing that a "misapplication" of the rules resulted in a point being deducted from Lopez late in regulation time of his fight with Mauro Sarmiento of Italy. The fight ended 1-1 in regulation. Sarmiento won in sudden death with a one-point kick.

 

Lopez said he considered withdrawing, but he went on to win a bronze medal.

 

"I think Steve Lopez' case would be even more difficult to argue," said Hall. " ... I think Steve was arguing more against the technicality of a negative point (the deduction). ... I've seen those overturned, but they're very few and far between."

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

This guy deserves to be banned for life considering the way he acted. He brought disgrace to this part of the olympic games and to his country. Rules are rules whether he likes it or not and he has to follow them.