a referee error benefited Teddy Riner in the final, the international federation apologizes

The International Judo Federation (IJF) apologized in a press release, published on Wednesday 17 May, for a refereeing error made in favor of Teddy Riner, finally crowned at the expense of the Russian, under neutral flag, Inal Tasoev, in the weight final peaks at the World Cup in Doha last Saturday. The action in question took place in the golden score, the extension after the four regular minutes of the fight, where whoever scores first wins. Had she been considered, she would have offered Tasoev world gold.

“In the +100 kg final, between Teddy Riner and Inal Tasoev, there was an action in which neither the referee on the mat nor the IJF Referee Commission awarded a point. Teddy Riner’s attack was blocked and countered by Inal Tasoev. The decision was to continue the fight, not counting the counterattack“, explains the IJF.

An action that will be “counted in the future”

“After the match, taking into account the current refereeing rules and the opinion of judo experts, we believe that a point for Tasoev’s counter-attack could be awarded“, he continues, before apologizing.”The IJF Arbitration Commission sincerely apologizes for its decision and informs that this type of action will be counted in the future, in accordance with the current rules.“, points out.

During the fight, even Tasoev, arms raised and fists clenched, thought for a moment that he had won, when Riner, on the ground, shook his finger “no”. The two-time Olympic champion (2012 and 2016) ended up winning shortly after, by waza-ari. Riner (34) was crowned world champion for the eleventh time (nine in +100kg, two in all categories) in Qatar, six years after his last two titles.