Cuban Taekwondo Athlete Banned After Kicking Ref

A Cuban taekwondo athlete and his coach were banned from the sport for life after Angel Matos kicked the referee in the face immediately following his bronze-medal match disqualification.

His coach, Leudis Gonzalez didn’t even offer an apology for Matos’ face-kick after the men’s over-80 kg (176 pounds) match. Matos was winning 3-2, with 1:02 in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan’s Arman Chilmanov. He was sitting on the floor, waiting for medical attention, which led to his disqualification for taking too much injury time. Fighters get one minute, and Matos was disqualified when his time ran out.

Furious, Matos questioned the call, pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden. Matos spat on the floor and was finally escorted out. That’s the Olympic spirit guys!