(ATR) The Swedish wrestler who dropped his Olympic bronze medal in protest against a judging decision at the Beijing Games is banned from the sport for two years.
Wrestling's governing body FILA suspended and fined Ara Abrahamian and coach Leo Myllari on Thursday. It also fined the Swedish wrestling federation $43,000 and barred it from hosting international events for two years.
FILA President Raphael Martinetti said the Swedes had showed a "serious lack of Olympic spirit."
At the Olympics, Abrahamian was upset by a penalty call which decided his semifinal bout against Andrea Minguzzi in the Greco-Roman 84-kg division. The Swede shouted at the referee and judges, later saying his loss to Minguzzi was "totally unjustified."
His Italian opponent went on to win gold while Abrahamian won his bronze medal bout after his coach reportedly argued with judges and accused them of corruption.
During the medal ceremony, the Swedish wrestler removed the bronze medal from his neck and dropped it on the mat in protest.
The IOC stripped him of the bronze and expelled him from the Games after ruling he violated the Olympic charter and was disrespectful to other medalists.
The parties punished in the ruling have 21 days to appeal the verdicts to FILA. The cases could then go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
Abrahamian is also disputing the IOC rulings at CAS. After winning a first CAS hearing that established he was not given fair rights to protest the result of his disputed bout, he is now waiting for the sports court to hear an appeal to downgrade his IOC expulsion to a warning.With reporting from Mark Bisson.
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