Boxing body AIBA reassigns top official after scoring uproar

By Alan Baldwin RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Olympic boxing body AIBA has reassigned its French executive director Karim Bouzidi to a new role, a day after announcing that some judges and referees had been dropped from the tournament at the Rio Games. It said in a statement that Franco Falcinelli, AIBA's most senior vice-president and European Boxing Confederation president, would take over operational responsibilities for the Olympic competition which ends on Sunday. Bouzidi was not named directly in the statement but an AIBA official confirmed he was the executive director referred to, without giving any more details on the reasons behind the change. "The decisions taken emphasise that AIBA will not shy away from its responsibilities and will continue to ensure a level playing field and a fair and transparent sport," the statement said. The boxing tournament has been hit by controversy over the new scoring system and allegations by some beaten boxers that they were "robbed" of victory. AIBA had said on Wednesday that it had reviewed all decisions in 239 bouts to date and found "less than a handful" were not at the level expected. "The concerned referees and judges will no longer officiate at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games," it said, adding that the results of all bouts would stand. It did not name any individuals. The uproar was kicked off on Tuesday by Irish world champion Michael Conlan who vented his feelings in an expletive-laden rant after losing his quarter-final to Russian Vladimir Nikitin. Many observers felt the Irishman had been the true winner and questioned the new professional-style scoring that has been introduced for Rio in place of the old computerised system that also attracted controversy. Tempers calmed on Thursday, when Nikitin withdrew from the semi-finals due to injury, and associate U.S. men's team coach Kay Koroma told reporters that the judges were also coming to terms with change. "I tell people you can't use the word 'corruption' all the time," he said. "You can just say it was a bad decision. The judges are also stressed out and frustrated because they are actually in the Games too. "So it's difficult to score. Some people are looking at something and others at something else. It just matters out of those five judges which ones they pick. Sometimes they pick the wrong one." The new system involves five judges ringside who all score the fight, with a computer deciding at random which three of the five will count. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Alison Williams and Neil Robinson)