Who would say that in an environment with as much sportsmanship as the Olympic Games an event like this could happen? During the first round of the men’s heavyweight boxing tournament (81-91kg), Moroccan Youness Baalla tried to bite his rival, New Zealander David Nyika.
Nyika was winning in the first two rounds, which was making the Moroccan desperate. Baalla could not score points and wanted to destabilize the New Zealander. The Moroccan decided to use foul play and tried to bite his rival while they were fighting. The match referee did not notice the action and did not stop the match. Even so, this act did not destabilize Nyika, as she managed to take the fight 5-0.
Did you see that? I don’t think the referee saw him and he was the closest person,” said the New Zealander after the fight. At a press conference, Nyika took the opportunity to explain the event, “He didn’t give me a full bite. Luckily, I had the mouthguard on and I was a bit sweaty. I don’t remember what I told him. But come on man, this is the Olympic Games “.
Although the referee did not see the bite, it seems that the thing will not stay here. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will study a possible sanction for Baalla after this unfortunate image.