Judging disputes tarnishing Olympics

ATHENS, Greece — These Olympics have been hit by so many scoring and judging disputes, it raises the question: Who's watching the judges?

Gymnastics, swimming, equestrian, rowing and fencing all have been embroiled in protests and appeals over medal results. Three gymnastics judges and a fencing referee have been suspended for errors affecting gold medals.

While the controversies haven't reached the level of the Salt Lake City Olympics figure skating scandal two years ago — there have been no suggestions of impropriety — they raise the issue of how such crucial mistakes could occur on sports' biggest stage.

"It looks bad for the federations if their judges are not capable of judging at an Olympic level," longtime Canadian IOC member Dick Pound said. "You can't run the risk of having years of training trivialized by judges who are not capable of making the kind of decisions required."

The International Olympic Committee doesn't control judging. That's left to the 28 international sports federations, which run the events and appoint judges, referees and other technical officials.

But IOC officials are closely monitoring disputes and say the federations should work harder to train judges and improve the standard of refereeing.

"You should make clear to every judge that they are just like an athlete," IOC vice president Thomas Bach said. "If you do well, you can come back to the Games. If not, you do not qualify any more."

Judging scandals at the Olympics are nothing new. There've been plenty through the years, including the boxing decision that deprived Roy Jones Jr. of a gold medal against a Korean fighter in Seoul in 1988. Other cases weren't so magnified.

"In the past, nobody discussed it," IOC executive director Gilbert Felli said. "Now more and more lawyers are getting involved. As soon as anything happens, they jump right onto it. But the quality of the judges is much higher than before. Boxing is now doing an excellent job. Most federations are making a big effort to monitor the judges."

The IOC contends that decisions on the field of play should not be challenged, that only cases involving technical errors or ethical impropriety should be subject to review. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, an independent body, has a tribunal in Athens to hear such appeals.