No Disciplinary Action for Conlan ‘Rio Robbery’ Officials

None of the officials at the Rio Olympics, including those involved in Michael Conlan’s infamous defeat, will face disciplinary action.

Professor Richard McLaren, who headed an independent investigation- commissioned by the International Boxing Association – into boxing at Rio, confirmed in his latest report that it was impossible to say for certain that any boxing match had been tampered with.

This comes despite the fact a previous report stated that “approximately nine bouts” were “suspicious beyond the two raised in the media at the time”. One of the latter was Conlan’s extremely controversial split-decision loss to Nikitin.

“There is no final determination as to whether match-manipulation has occurred,” the latest report says.

Prof McLaren warns in the report that if the sport wants to retain its Olympic spot in needs to act now. The report also gives an account that a history of rule-breaking, financial mismanagement, rule-breaking, lies, and poor training and education
facilities in International Boxing.

In his final report, Professor McLaren said: “Today I hope to paint a picture of the IBA as an organization in transition but still in need of reform.

“I am confident the current IBA management will do all it can to implement the recommendations of the report to stay within the Olympic family.

“My intention was to shine a light on the areas that need reform to give boxing a fresh start. They have the tools, they have the will. I am confident that boxing is not down for the count.

“A decades-long history of financial mismanagement and improper reporting of financial affairs have created a damaging legacy, casting a shadow over the sport until recently.”

22 ‘high risk’ officials were removed from competitions last year and are no longer eligible for selection. That comes after last September, an investigation found that a system to manipulate the outcome of boxing matches by officials was in place at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

A new system of vetting referees and officials using artificial intelligence has been put in place but no action will be taken on any official with regard to Rio 2016.

Although it wasn’t flagged as much at the time there were also some concerns surrounding Joe Ward and Katie Taylor’s Rio exits.

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