DISQUALIFIED SWEDISH WRESTLER APPEALS TO COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT

The Canadian Press
Sept 11 2008

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The Swedish wrestler stripped of his bronze
medal at the Beijing Olympics for protesting during the medal ceremony
filed an appeal Thursday with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Ara Abrahamian, who was disqualified from the games after the protest,
asked the top court in international sports to downgrade his punishment
to a warning. CAS said it would rule within four months.

Abrahamian became incensed when a disputed penalty call decided his
semifinal against Italy’s Andrea Minguzzi, who went on to win the
gold medal in the Greco-Roman 84-kilogram division.

During the medal ceremony, the Armenian-born Abrahamian took the bronze
from his neck and angrily, dropped it on the mat as he walked away.

The International Olympic Committee executive board stripped him
of his medal after ruling Abrahamian’s actions violated the Olympic
charter and was disrespectful toward other medallists.

Abrahamian already has received support from CAS in an Aug. 23 ruling
after he lodged a complaint claiming that a penalty in the second round
of the semifinal wasn’t assessed until after the round had ended, that
his coach had been denied a request for a video review and that the
sport’s international governing body had refused to consider a protest.