Investigation into bribery of judges at the Rio Olympics is underway

Joe Joyce and Tony Ioka at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Joe Joyce and Tony Ioka at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

An investigation is underway into possible tampering with the results of the Rio games five years ago. Suspicions have fallen on the outcome of eleven bouts. Investigators suspect, for example, of bribing the referees of Michael Conlan's duel with Vladimir Nikitin, after which the Irishman "thanked" the referees with his middle finger. However, he was so convincing in this fight that Nikitin withdrew from the Olympic semi-final because of injuries.

The verdict of the heavyweight final between Tony Ioka and Joe Joyce is also under investigation. The judges of that bout are believed to have posted a knowingly known result for pecuniary or other gain. The report indicates that in some cases it may have even been six-figure sums.

The investigation covers a number of other bouts in which athletes from Russia, France and Uzbekistan were favoured over athletes from other countries.

"Now we have to carefully analyse this report and see what steps need to be taken to ensure the fairness of the judges' verdicts," said current AIBA head Umar Kremlev.

Richard McLaren, who previously handled the state's doping program for Russian athletes, is leading the investigation. His investigation resulted in a number of disqualifications and bans for the federations and the athletes themselves.