French boxer Mourad Aliev spent nearly an hour sitting outside the ring to protest a referee decision that disqualified him from the Olympic heavyweight tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Referee Andy Mustacchio decided to disqualify Aliev, four seconds from the end of the second round of the fight in the quarter finals of the +91kg tournament, because he thought that the Frenchman intentionally headed his opponent, the Briton Frazer Clarke, who suffered cuts near the eyes.
After the referee’s decision, Mourad Aliev sat outside the ring, next to the steps and remained still until the competition officials and officials of his team came to talk to him.
“This was my way of showing that the decision was unfair. I’ve trained my whole life to be here and, because of a referee’s decision, I lost.”
– .
