“For me 4 years of work, for them 5 months of suspension. Thanks UWW…”

Adding insult to injury. The decision arrived today United World Wrestlingthe International Wrestling Federation, regarding the controversial fight between Frank Chamizo and Turan Bayramov in the European Olympic qualification tournament in Baku. The Azeri was confirmed as the winner of the match and, consequently, qualified for Paris in the 74 kg freestyle category.

The Disciplinary Commission admitted the many refereeing errors committed, asking that the blue can be included among the top seeds in Istanbul in the last five-ring world qualifying tournament. All the referees of the match in question were suspended for various periods. A mocking sentence therefore for Italy and above all for Chamizo, who took to social media to express his reaction following the UWW’s decision.

“Thank you, UWW, for telling us what we already knew: it cost me four years of work and them 5 months of suspension. How do these referees look at themselves in the mirror? Brother, God is watching all of us. I will continue to work hard and seek the strength to endure this injustice“, we read in the Italian-Cuban’s post on his main social accounts.

Satisfaction for Chamizo: the appeal to the UWW proves him right, but the sentence is mocking

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We report below text of the official statement of the International Federation: “The Disciplinary Chamber of United World Wrestling has decided to suspend, for various periods, the refereeing body and the refereeing delegates for the alleged violations during the semi-final match between the Italian Frank Chamizo and the Azerbaijani Turan Bayramov in the European wrestling tournament. Baku Olympic qualification. Despite the sanctions, Bayramov remains the winner of the bout, since according to Article 53 of the International Rules of Wrestling, under no circumstances can the result of a bout be changed after victory has been declared on the mat.

The Disciplinary Chamber, however, has asked the UWW to place Frank Chamizo as the top seed in the draw for the final Olympic qualifying event, which will be played on a global basis May 9-12 in Istanbul, Turkey. During the Chamizo-Bayramov match, Roman Pavlov was the mat referee, Ali M. Saiwan was the judge and Aleksei Bazulin was the jury president. The referee delegation consisted of Kamel Bouaziz, Ibrahim Cicioglu and Casey Goessl. The Disciplinary Chamber decided to suspend both Pavlov and Cicioglu from all their respective positions until 31 December 2024. Saiwan is suspended from all his positions until 30 September 2024. The president of the jury of the match, Bazulin, is suspended from all his positions until 30 June 2024, and the remaining two members of the refereeing delegation, Bouaziz and Goessl, have been suspended from all their respective positions until 30 June 2024.

Bayramov won the match at 8-8 by priority and earned an Olympic card in Paris for Azerbaijan. However, the Italian Federation complained about several refereeing errors during this match and a controversial decision on the challenge which are believed to have caused an incorrect final score and outcome of the match. The UWW formed two different groups to review the complaints and statements from each member of the arbitration body and the arbitrator delegates were requested and forwarded to the UWW administration. The referee delegates also presented their co-signed report on the match.

The UWW panels reviewed the match and all alleged errors that were reported, including the referee sequences and scores, the challenge decision by the referee delegates, as well as the review and allocation of responsibilities in the referee body. Both groups agreed that some actions during the match were not judged correctly, including failure to detect the passivity of the wrestlers. It was also agreed that the referee consultations were not efficient, a timing error was made and the challenge consultation had serious shortcomings in its conduct. Furthermore, the panels reported a serious lack of discernment in the assignment of the refereeing body and the distribution of roles during the challenge of this specific match. The UWW is committed to and makes ongoing efforts to uphold the integrity of the sport“.