Castro Defends Athlete's Kick to Judge's Face
Angel Valodia Matos of Cuba (red) kicks the referee, Chakir Chelbat of Sweden (R), after Chelbat disqualified Matos for an extended injury time out during the Men's +80kg bronze medal match against Arman Chilmanov of Kazakhstan (not pictured) held at the University of Science and Technology Beijing Gymnasium on Day 15 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 23, 2008 in Beijing, China. Chilmanov won the bronze medal. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images AsiaPac)
Professional athletes, especially those that compete in the Olympics are supposed to remain composed. With that said, kicking a referee in the face, is definitely not OK. But, in the bronze-medal match of the Olympic taekwondo competition, Angel Matos of Cuba did just that, and Fidel Castro thinks that's just fine.
After being disqualified Matos delivered a swift kick to the face of referee Chakir Chelbat, of Sweden, Matos then spit on the floor before he was escorted out. Chelbat's lip was broken open, and required stiches.
Chelbat had disqualified Matos for taking more than his one minute of recovery time after he fell to the mat from a hit by his opponent. After the attack on the ref, the taekwondo officials called Matos' behavior an insult, and want to ban both him and his coach from the sport for life.
Matos' coach claims the match was fixed, saying the Kazakhs had offered him money, and Castro supports this alleged claim.
The ex-president of Cuba wrote in an essay published in Cuba's state media, that the alleged bribery attempt gave Matos good reason to expect the judges to treat him unfairly, and that he "could not contain himself."
Castro's ability to ignore the fact that Matos' actions were uncalled for, and that in the end, his disqualification was justified, is amazing. But, what do you expect? He is after all Fidel Castro.
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