Olympics: Cuban Fighter Banned for Life After Attacking Judge

Cuba's Angel Valodia Matos lashed out at a referee and a judge after being disqualified from his bronze medal bout with Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov in the Olympic taekwondo men's +80-kg tournament.

Matos kicked Swedish judge Chakir Chelbat in the head as coaches from both teams ran on to the mat to dispute the result. The Cuban was leading 3-2 in the second period of the contest when Matos stopped to receive treatment for a foot injury. Competitors are allowed a one minute period to treat injuries, and when this time elapsed the referee awarded the contest to Chilmanov.

After a heated exchange on the mat, Matos pushed the match referee and then caught the Swedish judge in the head with a high kick. Matos then spat on the floor was promptly dragged from the scene by his back-room staff. Matos and his coach were almost immediately slapped with a lifetime ban from all World Taekwondo Federation championships for the outburst, which the WTF called "a strong violation of the spirit of taekwondo and the Olympics."

"He was too strict," Cuban coach Leudis Gonzalez said of the judge. Gonzalez offered no apology for the actions of Matos, who may also face questioning from Chinese police and Olympic security officials.