Former official calls for new judging system

Controversial officiating won't harm China's successful Olympic campaign in London, said a former top official of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

Wei Jizhong, president of the International Volleyball Federation and former secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Committee, attributed the disputed refereeing issues during the London Olympics to outdated rules and deficient judging systems.

Wei Jizhong is president of the International Volleyball Federation. [Li Yanhong/Asianewsphoto]

"Officiating problems happen at every Games but it's not fair to blame them only on the referees. It's also unfair to slam the International Olympic Committee and local Olympic organizing committee for allegedly favoring the host nation," Wei told China Daily in an exclusive interview in London on Friday.

Citing a violation of the rules, the International Cycling Union stripped the Chinese team of its gold medal in the women's team sprint track event last Thursday and refused China's later appeal. But the International Cycling Union showed no concerns when a British cyclist admitted to having taken advantage of rules to win the medal by intentionally falling.

A similar case happened in gymnastics as well.

Chen Yibing, China's defending rings champion, finished his routine flawlessly with a stable landing during the final on Monday, while Brazilian rival Arthur Nabarrete stumbled while landing but edged Chen out by 0.1 point to win the gold medal.

Chinese officials questioned the scoring system but were gagged from appealing because rules stipulate execution scores cannot be altered.

Chinese netizens started to fiercely criticize the "unfair calls" and attributed them to the organizing body's partiality toward the host.

However, Wei didn't agree.

"It should be the responsibility of the event's governing body. They should revise the rules to make them compatible with the sport's development and try to introduce high-tech systems to assist the judges," said the 72-year-old.

Wei had urged the International Volleyball Federation to introduce a TV analysis system around the volleyball court at the London Games to help the referees make better decisions.

Contact the writer at sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn