Boxing officials from Rio 2016 to be banned from Tokyo 2020
LAUSANNE: Boxing referees and judges involved in the Rio Olympics, who were all suspended following the Games, will not be allowed to officiate at Tokyo 2020, an International Olympic Committee task force said on Wednesday.
All 36 referees and judges from the Rio Olympics were suspended in the wake of the Games as the International Boxing Association (Aiba) carried out an investigation, following allegations that Olympic fights were fixed.
Several judges and referees were sent home from Rio following a number of questionable decisions during the boxing tournament.
While Aiba’s investigation in 2017 found no interference in results and recommended that the Rio judges be reintegrated on a “case by case basis”, the IOC’s new selection criteria ruled them ineligible for the Tokyo Games.
The task force said its decision followed discussions with athletes to increase clarity, transparency and integrity in the selection process and officiating at the Olympics.
“The main objective of the IOC boxing task force is to ensure the completion of the mission of delivering events, while putting the boxers first, and with transparent and credible sporting results and fair play,” boxing task force chair Morinari Watanabe said.
At Tokyo, referees and judges will be picked from a pool of officials comprising qualified Aiba-certified individuals who have been reviewed to ensure they meet the selection criteria.
The boxing task force will then randomly select every official for each competition. The full selection process will be under the supervision of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
It was also announced that scores from all judges at the end of each round will be displayed publicly during qualifying competitions and the Games.
The task force was set up to organise qualifiers and the Tokyo Games competition following IOC’s decision to suspend Aiba in June until the issues surrounding its finances and governance were resolved.