London 2012: Media outrage over faulty refereeing

Sports

London 2012: Media outrage over faulty refereeing

Close

Media in losing countries has strongly criticised the controversial refereeing in London Olympics.

07 August,2012 10:39 pm

Officiating at London 2012 has been closely scrutinised by media houses in countries whose athletes have found themselves on the wrong end of contentious decisions.As in the Eurovision song contest, political power plays are often said to sway the judges.Chinese state media was appalled that gymnast Chen Yibing was pipped to gold by just 0.1 points in the individual rings by Brazils Arthur Zanetti. The morning bulletin on the CCTV channel scrutinised both routines, contrasting Canettis wobbly landing with Chens perfect performance. A pundit on a Hong Kong broadcast from CCTV said Chens defeat was linked to foreign jealousy and prejudice against Chinese athletes.State newspaper the Peoples Daily ran with the headline Refereeing spoils Olympic Games in its domestic edition, while its international edition coined the catchy phrase referee-gate.The Sina news portal ran an online poll on the result in which nearly 10,000 respondents selected the option: Outrage, referee scoring too unfair. Virtually no-one voted in favour of Chens score.South Korean newspaper The Korea Times said that its athletes had been the biggest victims of questionable officiating at the games, listing results in swimming, fencing and judo, some of which were later overturned. The paper said that organisers had tried to appease fencing star Shin Lam with a silver medal after her defeat by the German Britta Heidemann.The article said that even amateur athletics have long been influenced by the powers of the nations that athletes belong to in the name of so-called sports diplomacy.News agency Yonhap agreed that crucial errors have been concentrated on South Korean athletes.There was, however, little sympathy for the female badminton doubles pair who were disqualified for throwing their matches. The Korea Times said the pair had no excuses for their behaviour.Boxing officiating was also widely discussed in the Indian media following some knife-edge decisions. Screen captions on NDTV reporting Vikas Krishans defeat by American Errol Spence read: India cheated out of medal hope, Clear case of cheating and American pressure works.Other outlets blamed a new scoring system which newspaper DNA said has left everyone confused.Another report in the same paper looked towards the forthcoming bout between Mary Kom and Team GBs Nicola Adams, saying: The general belief among boxers and coaches is that the Brits are favoured by judges and referees alike.The disqualification of Iranian boxer Ali Mazaheri, who was the countrys opening ceremony flag-bearer, was widely condemned. Mazaheri himself said the decision was part of a conspiracy and a set-up.The Secretary-General of Irans Olympic Committee, Bahram Afsharzadeh, also hinted at foul play, telling the Mehr news agency: Some countries have influence on events like boxing and wrestling; they influence referees directly, but we do not have powerful positions and people in these events, who could defend the interests of our sportsmen.The news agency also highlighted BBC commentator Richie Woodhalls surprise at the disqualification.Iranian state radio criticized the German referee for his unfair judgement, and reported that thousands of foreign spectators at the stadium protested the decision by cheering the Iranian boxer.