In the final contest of +100kg there was one situation where neither the referee on the mat nor the IJF Refereeing Commission gave any score
At the 2023 World Judo Championships in Doha there was a controversial no call made during the final of the +100kg category between Teddy Riner (FRA) and Inal Tasoev (AIN) during the golden score round. Teddy Riner wearing a white judo gi came in for an attack which was blocked and countered by Inal Tasoev wearing a blue judo gi. Inal immediately rose to his feet and celebrated as the new world champion of +100kg. Riner could be seen laying on his back waving his finger in disapproval of Tasoev’s celebration. No call was made by the mat referee nor the IJF Refereeing Commission.
In the video down below you can see the attack from Riner and the counter attack that followed from Tasoev. Check it out, would you have scored it for Tasoev?
Following the conclusion of the competition there IJF Referee Commission reviewed the no score call. Taking in the consideration of current refereeing rules and the opinion of judo experts, the IJF Referee Commission found that a score could have been awarded to Tasoev. A score that would have crowned him as the new world champion at +100kg.
The IJF Refereeing Commission released a statement saying, “herewith the IJF Refereeing Commission apologizes deeply for its decision and informs that this kind of action shall be scored in the future, following the current judo rules.” Their statement continued with “we are constantly working for the improvement of the refereeing system in order to achieve maximum transparency and fair play and after each edition of the Olympic Games, we analyze and we reform all those refereeing aspects which need to adapt to the evolution of sport, those which maximize transparency and fair play.”
It is great to see the IJF Referee Commission come together for the review and recognize a score that would have crowned a new world champion. It is not easy to backtrack on the decision post competition but it was the right decision to be made by the IJF
