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Cuba's Angel Matos deliberately kicked a referee
square in the face after he was disqualified in a
bronze-medal match, prompting the World Taekwondo
Federation to recommend he be banned for life.
After being disqualified from his bronze-medal
match, Cuban taekwondo athlete Angel Matos goes on
a rampage, kicking a referee in the head and
pushing a judge.
Matos was angry over Swedish referee Chakir
Chelbat's ruling that the Cuban took too much time
with an injury, which resulted in Matos being
disqualified from the match he was leading.
Matos and his coach argue with the Swedish referee
over his disqualification, which cost the Cuban a
chance at a bronze medal.
After kicking the referee, Matos wasn't finished.
He confronted another official following the
decision to disqualify him from the match.
Both Matos and his coach were fuming after the
incident, but there were no apologies coming from
the Cuban camp. Coach Leudis Gonzalez said the
official was "too strict" and charged the match
was fixed.
The punishment was quick and severe, as Matos and
his coach were given a ban from the sport for life
for the incident.
"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."
Yang also recommended Matos' coach be banned.
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 sitting there, awaiting medical
attention, when he was disqualified for taking too
much injury time. Fighters get one minute, and
Matos was disqualified when his time ran out.
Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge,
then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of
Sweden, who will require stitches in his lip.
Matos spat on the floor and was escorted out.
"This is an insult to the Olympic vision, an
insult to the spirit of taekwondo and, in my
opinion, an insult to mankind," Yang said.
Matos' coach was unapologetic.
"He was too strict," Leudis Gonzalez said,
referring to the decision to disqualify Matos.
Afterward, he charged the match was fixed,
accusing the Kazakhs of offering him money.
Although the arena announcer said Matos and his
coach were banned effective immediately, Yang said
due process must be followed before officially
banning the two.
In his first match, Matos defeated Italy's
Leonardo Basile, then beat China's Liu Xiaobo 2-1
in the quarterfinals. But he lost to South Korean
Cha Dong-min in the semis to land in the
bronze-medal match.
"To me it was obvious he was unable to continue,"
Chilmanov said. "His toe on his left foot was
broken."
But Chilmanov added: "Rules are rules. I'm happy
with my medal."
Matos won the gold medal in this division - the
men's over 80-kilograms (176 pounds) - at the 2000
Sydney Games, dedicating the victory to his
mother, who died on the day of the opening
ceremony. At the 2004 Athens Games, he finished
11th.
Matos' bad behavior followed a day of confusion on
the mats and ended the four-day taekwondo
competition, which was marred by several protests
against judge's calls.
Earlier Saturday, China's double gold medalist
Chen Zhong crashed out in the quarterfinals after
initially being declared the winner.
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