Georgia’s Guram Tushishvili has been disqualified from competing in the judo mixed team event after his attack on Frenchman Teddy Riner after their men’s 100kg+ quarter-final.
Riner, who jointly lit the cauldron alongside retired sprinter Marie-Jose Perec at last week’s Olympics opening ceremony, is the strong favourite to win gold in Paris having stood on the top step of the podium in London and Rio.
Winning a medal guarantees his spot as the most decorated judoka in Olympic history.
But he faced a tricky test on paper in the quarter-finals against Tokyo silver medalist Tushishvili.
However, Riner had the home crowd on their feet when he won the match with an ippon – the highest score available in judo.
Guram Tushishvili has been disqualified from the Olympics
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The referee raised his arm to indicate Riner’s victory as the Frenchman stood tall over his Georgian opponent.
Tushishvili reacted angrily as he pushed his leg upwards into the body of Riner, sending the 35-year-old back down to the canvas.
The 29-year-old then kicked the France judoka around on the floor before putting his hand in Riner’s face.
The pair eventually shook hands after the scuffle, but it was later confirmed by the International Judo Federation that Tushishvili had been disqualified from the Olympics.
Their statement read: ‘Following the incident that took place at the end of the quarter-final between Teddy Riner (FRA) and Guram Tushishvili (GEO) in the +100 kg weight category, the behaviour of the Georgian judoka was against the ‘spirit of judo,’ an ad hoc disciplinary commission was called immediately together to investigate the situation.
“The following decisions were taken:
“Guram Tushishvili is suspended from the individual competition and will not be allowed to compete in the repechage.
“Guram Tushishvili is suspended from participating in the mixed team event to be held on 3rd August 2024.
“Guram Tushishvili is suspended from participating in any international judo competition until the IJF Disciplinary Commission meets to give a final decision. Further investigations will be conducted to determine what happened.”
Guram Tushishvili lost to home favourite Teddy Riner
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French Olympic Judoka Frederique Jossinet, speaking on Eurosport, slammed Tushishvili for his angry reaction on the mat.
“In judo, values, respect for the opponent and the winner are very important,” she said.
“His reaction was pitiful and not in keeping with the values of judo. He got ‘hansoku-make’, a disqualification. You can’t have a reaction like that. This is not judo.”
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Guram Tushishvili will no longer be able to compete in the mixed team event
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She added: “It’s a bit of testosterone. It was a very tense match, a quarter that could have been a semi-final or a final. The Georgian is a very hotheaded person, he’s a big character, and it’s not the first time it’s happened like that.
“Tushishvili attacks Teddy from a poor position and a little ‘with nothing’. Teddy pulls off a magnificent counter. He tackles him to the floor, and of course there’s an Ippon. A few glances were exchanged, with Teddy Riner superior in terms of position, so the Georgian must not have liked it too much.
“That’s fair enough, we’re in a combat sport, we mustn’t forget that.”