#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW Appeal Committee concludes investigation into Olympic qualification match

Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - 15:00 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 29) -- The United World Wrestling (UWW) Appeal Committee has reached a decision regarding the appeals filed against the UWW Disciplinary Chamber's ruling dated April 23, 2024, concerning the officiating of Match 266 (ITA vs AZE) at the European OG Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan.

After carefully considering the statements from the refereeing officials involved (Alexei Bazulin, Roman Pavlov, Ibrahim Cicioglu, Kamel Bouaziz, and Casey Goessl), the reports of the two review panels, and the opinions of impartial refereeing experts, the Appeal Committee concluded that there was no indication of bias in the officiating of the match. The issues identified were determined to be related to refereeing errors and technical aspects of officiating.

To ensure a fair and proportionate outcome, the Appeal Committee has referred the case back to the UWW Disciplinary Chamber for reconsideration. The Disciplinary Chamber has been instructed to reassess the appropriate sanctions, if any, based solely on the refereeing errors and technical officiating issues in accordance with the relevant UWW rules and regulations.

Considering the above, the Disciplinary Chamber revisited the case and issued the following decision:

Considering the above, in particular, that the appeal panel found that “there is no indication of bias amounting to a breach of the fundamental principles of integrity and fair play in the officiating of Match 266” and that “since this case is about the refereeing errors and questionable decisions of a technical nature”, pursuant to the UWW Regulations and rules the Disciplinary Chamber renders the following revised sanction:

  1. The suspension against the refereeing delegates (Mr. Bouaziz, Mr. Cicioglu, Mr. Goessl) is reduced until 31 May 2024; notwithstanding the foregoing, the refereeing delegates are reinstated in the selection for the Olympic Games and may be considered, subject to the final selection by the Refereeing Commission and the UWW Bureau, to officiate only as mat chairmen during the Games.
  2. The suspension against Mr. Bazulin is reduced until 31 May 2024; notwithstanding the foregoing, Mr. Bazulin is reinstated in the selection for the Olympic Games and may be considered, subject to the final selection by the Refereeing Commission and the UWW Bureau, to officiate as referee during the Games.
  3. The suspension against Mr. Pavlov is reduced to the same period as the judge’s, i.e. until 30 September 2024.

The UWW remains committed to upholding the integrity of the sport and ensuring that all competitions are conducted fairly and in accordance with the rules and regulations.

#JapanWrestling

Tokyo silver medalist Fumita dealt setback on path to Paris Olympics

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 - 10:20 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (June 13) -- The path to the 2024 Paris Olympics just got a little bumpier for Tokyo silver medalist Kenichiro FUMITA.

Fumita, the runner-up in Tokyo and a two-time former world champion at Greco 60kg, has pulled out of the upcoming Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, Japan's second domestic qualifying tournament for this year's World Championships.

Fumita revealed on his Twitter account that he suffered a torn hamstring and had withdrawn from the Meiji Cup, to be held June 15-18 in Tokyo. That means for him to make Japan's team to the Belgrade worlds, he will have to beat the Meiji Cup champion in a playoff on July 1.

The 27-year-old Fumita wrote that he had undergone treatment for the injury but had decided it was best to play it safe by pulling out of the Meiji Cup, and would "aim to earn a place at the World Championshps in the playoff."

Last December, Fumita won the title at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships, the first of the two domestic qualifiers for the World Championships. He could have secured his ticket to Belgrade with a title at the Meiji Cup, but now will have to rely on a victory in the winner-take-all playoff.

For Japanese wrestlers in Olympic weight classes, getting to Belgrade takes on additional significance. The 2023 worlds offers the first qualifying spots for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and a medal in an Olympic weight class will earn a Japanese wrestler an automatic ticket to Paris.

Of course, should Fumita lose the playoff or not be recovered enough to take part, there is no assurance that the wrestler who earns the spot will win a medal in Belgrade. In that case, then Fumita would have another chance by representing Japan at the Olympic qualifiers in 2024.

But that means leaving his fate in others' hands. It seems likely he will be on the mat for the playoff, even if he is not at 100 percent.

The injury spoiled what had been a productive run for Fumita since the Tokyo Olympics, where he was left in tears after losing in the final to Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB). After that, he won the title at the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup in Warsaw in July 2022, then took a bronze medal the following September at the World Championships in Belgrade, adding to his golds from 2017 and 2019.

At the Emperor's Cup, the link to the Paris Olympics led to a funnelling of top wrestlers into the Olympic weight classes, and Fumita fended off all comers at 60kg to win his fourth national title and first since 2020.

The weight class includes Maito KAWANA and Ayata SUZUKI, Asian bronze medalists in 2023 and 2022, respectively, and Yu SHIOTANI, the Asian champion and world bronze medalist at 55kg in 2022. Also looking to fill the hole left by Fumita is Kaito INABA, who finished seventh at the world U23 in 2022 -- he threw Fumita for a rare 4 in a 7-4 quarterfinal loss at the Emperor's Cup.