Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Court: Wrestler who dropped medal was right

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Court: Wrestler who dropped medal was right

    Court: Wrestler who dropped medal was right
    By (AP)

    BEIJING (AP) - It turns out that the Greco-Roman wrestler who was
    stripped of his bronze medal for dropping it in disgust on the mat had
    reason for being angry, according to the Court of Arbitration for
    Sport.

    Ara Abrahamian of Sweden complained to CAS that a penalty in the
    second round of his 84-kilogram bout on Aug. 14 against Italian Andrea
    Minguzzi wasn't assessed until after the round ended. Once factored
    in, Abrahamian automatically lost the match. Minguzzi went on to win
    the gold medal.

    Abrahamian's coach was then denied a request for a video review, then
    the wrestling federation'the International Federation of Associated
    Wrestling Styles, or FILA'refused to consider a protest.

    The 28-year-old Abrahamian had to be restrained from going after
    matside officials following his loss to Minguzzi. He stormed away from
    the area where interviews are conducted and slammed a door to the
    dressing rooms.

    After he was given his bronze during the medals ceremony, Abrahamian
    walked off the podium, went over to mat and dropped it in disgust and
    walked away. On Aug. 15, the International Olympic Committee
    disqualified Abrahamian and stripped his medal for violating the
    spirit of fair play during the medal ceremony.

    The Armenian-born Abrahamian'who also lost a 2004 Olympic semifinal
    match on a disputed call - initially wanted judges in the bout tossed
    out and his medal restored. But in the end, he only wanted CAS to
    verify that the lack of an immediate appeals process is a loophole
    that needs to be fixed. It also was referred to as a violation of `the
    Olympic Charter and FILA's own rules about fair play.'

    Judges said Abrahamian was right.

    `We limit ourselves to ruling that FILA must, consistently with the
    (Olympic) Charter and general principles of fairness, establish for
    the future a jury of appeal to determine the validity or otherwise of
    complaints of the kind ventilated by (Abrahamian),' the judges wrote.

    Elsewhere in the 20-page ruling, judges noted several times that FILA
    did not appear at a hearing.
    From: Baghdasarian
Working...
X