EURweb |
OLYMPIC ATHLETE KICKS REF IN THE FACE: Cuban tae kwon do fighter angered by disqualification during bronze medal match.
*A Cuban Olympic tae kwon do athlete who deliberately kicked a referee in the face after being disqualified now faces a permanent ban from his sport.
Angel Matos snapped his foot into ref Chakir Chelbat's grill during a bronze medal match on Saturday.
The move stunned commentators and prompted World Tae Kwon Do Federation Secretary General Yang Jin-suk to recommend that Matos be banned for life.
Matos was winning, 3-2, with 1:02 left in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov.
Matos was awaiting medical attention, when he was disqualified for taking more than the one-minute allowance for injury time. Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked Chelbat, who required stitches in his lip. Matos spat on the floor and was escorted out.
.JPG)
Tae kwon do athlete Angel Matos deliberately kicks referee at 2008 Olympics
"We didn't expect anything like what you have witnessed to occur," said WTF Secretary General Yang Jin-suk. "I am at a loss for words. This is an insult to the Olympic vision, an insult to the spirit of tae kwon do and, in my opinion, an insult to mankind."
View clip here.
Click for the latest Obama - Political headlines
Share and Bookmark |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
