Rio 2016 boxing officials to be banned from 2020 Tokyo Olympics

According to the latest reports, 36 referees and judges who were employed at the Rio 2016 boxing competition will now be banned from officiating at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. An International Olympic Committee task force revealed the information recently.

Three years ago, numerous judges and referees were sent back home from Rio De Janeiro, after taking a significant number of questionable decisions during the Olympic boxing competition.

As per the latest reports, judges and referees for the Tokyo Olympic Games will be selected from a pool of officials certified by the AIBA (International Boxing Association). They are already being reviewed in order to ensure that they meet the selection criteria.

The boxing task force chairman, Morinari Watanabe said, "The main objective of the IOC boxing task force is to ensure the completion of the mission of delivering events, while putting the boxers first, and with transparent and credible sporting results and fair play."

In 2017, an investigation was carried out by the AIBA. No interferences were found in the results of the 2016 Games. In turn, the AIBA recommended that the judges at the Rio Olympics should be reintegrated on a "case-by-case' basis. However, the new selection criteria of the IOC recently ruled these officials ineligible to conduct the Tokyo Games.

The task force stated that its decision came following discussions with participating athletes. The reason for such a decision is to ensure an increased transparency, enhanced clarity, and the strengthening of integrity involved in the selection process as well as officiating at the Olympic Games.

The latest developments mention that at the end of each round, scores from all the judges will now be displayed publicly. This rule shall be effective during both the qualifying competitions as well as the Olympics.

The official website of the Olympics mentioned that the creation of the IOC Boxing Task Force was based on the recommendations by the IOC Executive Board, which was then approved by the IOC Session.

It was then decided that boxing would be a part of the Tokyo 2020 program. However, the recognition of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) by the IOC should be suspended and later evaluated after the Tokyo 2020 Games conclude.

During the Rio Games in 2016, Irishman Michael Conlan and Kazakhstan's Vassiliy Levit lost their respective matches, even when they appeared to have secured comfortable wins. Later, Conlan claimed that the officials "robbed" him.