LONDON (Reuters) - Referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov from Turkmenistan has been expelled from the London Olympics, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) said on Thursday.
A second referee, Frank Scharmach of Germany, was suspended for five days by AIBA and a technical official from Azerbaijan sent home following two controversial decisions at the Olympic competition on Wednesday.
"I deeply regret that we had to take these decisions," AIBA President Wu Ching-Kuo said in a statement.
"However, our main concern has been and will always be the protection of the integrity and fair-play of our competitions. I will take all possible steps to reinforce this."
He later told Reuters: "There is only one truth and we always get to the truth."
Meretnyyazov failed to stop a men's bantamweight bout despite fighter Magomed Abdulhamidov being knocked down six times in the final round. The referee was expelled with immediate effect and AIBA said he was on his way home.
Japan's Satoshi Shimizu, who went into the last round of the bout against the Azerbaijani trailing by seven points, lost the contest by five when all three rounds were scored.
AIBA later overturned the verdict saying Meretnyyazov should have given the Azerbaijani "at least" three standing counts which would have resulted in the contest being stopped.
Iran's Ali Mazaheri accused officials of "a fix" after being disqualified by referee Scharmach in the second round of his opening heavyweight bout against Cuban Jose Larduet Gomez following three warnings for persistent holding.
Mazaheri was leading by two points going into the second round but the Iran team did not appeal and under AIBA rules it is now too late to do so.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored ties with AIBA in 2006 after freezing some funds to the association over controversial scoring decisions at the 2004 Athens Games.
At the time, the IOC expressed concerns over the scoring process and the selection of judges and froze more than $1 million in payments to AIBA.
The boxing tournament in Athens was marred by several controversial scores that angered spectators and fans.
London Olympics
... i stopped watching London gimmick shows...
LONDON (Reuters) - The London Olympics will be a "great Games" and will not be affected by poor weather or last-minute disruptions, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said on Friday after arriving a week before the opening ceremony.
London will be hosting its third Olympics after 1908 and 1948 from July 27-Aug 12 with organisers dealing with security issues, strike threats and rainy weather.
"I believe these will be great Games," a smiling Rogge told Reuters at the official IOC hotel in central London.
The Belgian surgeon, who will preside over his last Olympics before stepping down next year, said organisers had set the foundations for a successful Games.
"I expect the maximum because we organise the Games for the welfare of the athletes. I am confident," Rogge said.
"Preparation in spite of some difficulties has been very sound. All the bases have been covered so I am very optimistic. This is the country that invented modern sport...they love sport and it is a good promotion of sport overseas."
Rogge also played down the effect that wet weather can have on competition, saying it was not a major issue.
Britain suffered the wettest June since records began while July has also seen almost no sunshine and constant rain.
"It might affect in a minor way scheduling for tennis at Wimbledon but other than that I do not see many problems," he said.
Transport delays also loom over the event, with border officials going on strike on July 26 and train drivers in central England walking out from August 6-8 during the final week of the Games.
The British government has also had to draft in the army to help with venue security after company G4S said it could not supply enough guards.
he must be joking...
