TOKYO (Reuters) – French super heavyweight Mourad Aliev remained seated at ringside for nearly an hour after being disqualified in his fight on Sunday, a call he furiously protested with kicks in the air and offensive gestures.
When the referee stopped his bout against Britain’s Frazer Clarke with four seconds left in the second round, the Frenchman flew into a rage, spat out his mouth guard, kicked it, and punched at a TV camera.
Clarke suffered cuts above his eyes in what the referee appeared to deem an intentional headbutt by Aliev.
Aliev remained sitting at ring-side for about half an hour, then departed the arena after a word with a group of suited officials, only to return about 15 minutes later.
The quarter-final match, which ended in the second round, secured at least a bronze for Clarke, who said he sympathised with the Frenchman and that he had advised him not to “ruin his reputation”.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
