The International Judo Federation (IJF) has apologized 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 heavyweight final at the World Championships in Doha last Saturday, in a statement released Wednesday. The action in question occurred in the golden score, the extra time after the 4 minutes of regulation fight, where the first who scores wins. If it had been taken into account, it would have offered world gold to Tasoev.
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In the +100kg final, between Teddy Riner and Inal Tasoev, there was an action where neither the referee on the mat nor the IJF Refereeing Commission awarded a point. Teddy Riner's attack was blocked and countered by Inal Tasoev. The decision was to continue the fight, without counting the counter-attack," the IFJ said.
Tasoev thought he had beaten Riner for a moment.
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After the competition, taking into consideration the refereeing rules in force and the opinion of judo experts, we believe that a point for Tasoev's counterattack could be awarded," she continued, before apologizing. "The IFJ Arbitration Commission deeply apologizes for its decision and informs that this type of action will be counted in the future, in accordance with the rules in force," she said.
During the fight, the Russian, under a neutral flag, arms raised and fists clenched, thought for a moment to have won, when Riner, on the ground, did no finger. The two-time Olympic champion (2012 and 2016) ended up winning a little later, by waza-ari. Riner (34) was crowned for the eleventh time world champion (9 in +100 kg, 2 in all categories) in Qatar, six years after her last two titles.