The Olympic Farce

In a shocking display of corruption and bias at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the integrity of Taekwondo has been dealt another devastating blow. The scandal unfolded today when a decision that had rightly awarded victory to Chilean athlete Joaquín Churchill was disgracefully overturned in favor of South Korea’s Seo Geonwoo. This incident has once again brought to light the insidious influence of the World Taekwondo (WT) leadership, particularly the servile actions of Mohamed Shaaban, the president of the Games and Technical Committees, who seems all too willing to bow to the Korean-dominated hierarchy.

The roots of this crisis lie deep within the governance of Taekwondo. Since its inception, this martial art has been dominated by South Korean interests, with the headquarters of WT firmly planted in Seoul. Over the years, this control has manifested in subtle, yet powerful ways, ensuring that the outcomes of crucial matches often favor athletes from Korea. Today’s debacle was a glaring example of this systemic manipulation.

During the men’s -80 kg. bout, Joaquín Churchill of Chile had already secured the first round and was declared the winner of the second round as well, seemingly guaranteeing his victory. However, in a perplexing twist, the decision was reversed, citing an alleged technicality that Seo Geonwoo had landed more spinning kicks—two to Churchill’s one—thereby allegedly justifying the tie in the second round. But this was just the beginning of the farce.

The confusion and eventual injustice stemmed from a supposed error in the scoring system… Oh, yes: an error on the all mighty system on which every match decision is based, on the Olympic Games, because what the hell!

Under normal circumstances, the round should have gone to Seo. However, even under those conditions, Churchill should have won due to a flagrant breach of protocol by the Korean coach.

The South Korean coach, who had already lost the right to challenge after misusing the appeal card, stormed into the arena in a clear violation of the rules. By all standards, this unsportsmanlike behavior should have resulted in a penalty, granting Churchill the point needed to secure his victory. But in a move that smacks of favoritism, no such penalty was applied. Instead, the focus was shifted to nullifying Churchill’s win, robbing him of his rightful place in Olympic history.

Back at 2022 on Guadalajara World Championship, coach Jae Park from Canada awarded himself a 3 month suspension for doing exactly the same as the Korean coach today and not only that but the penalty was announced on the sound system of the arena for everyone to know (and learn) the consequences of such behavior. Today a two line warning letter was issued to the Korean coach whom entered to the next round and the round after that as if nothing had happen: no punishment, no sound system announcement, no nothing… Korea.

Last time a coach dared to jump into the Olympic arena to clarify a misunderstanding was back in 2008 during the bronze medal match between cuban Angel Matos and Kazakhstan Arman Chilmanov, we all know how that ended. The coach has been banned ever since from WT taekwondo and will remain so for life.

The real villain in this story, however, is not just the biased judges or the rule-breaking coach—it’s Mohamed Shaaban, the man who, as head of the Games and Technical Committees, had the power to ensure a fair outcome but chose instead to serve the interests of his Korean overlords. Shaaban’s actions today were not just a betrayal of the athletes who dedicate their lives to this sport, but a stark reminder of the deep-rooted corruption that threatens to destroy Taekwondo’s future in the Olympics.

I can not recall when was the last time a decision was reverted with such nerve, not to mention the whole world was watching. Last year on Baku World Championships at least seven referees were sanctioned, punished and their names displayed out to the public on the venue’s sound system for everyone to know as a result of appellations won by the issuers offended with bad decisions during several matches.

Can you guess how many of those decisions were reverted? You guessed: ZERO.

Those protests include a very controversial semifinal that costed a Jordan athlete the pass to the final match… A very important stance in my opinion.

Can you guess how many of the issuers were Korean? Guessed again: ZERO.

Today all the protocols where bridged by the ones who were supposed to not do so.

This is not the first time that Taekwondo has been embroiled in controversy. The sport’s continued inclusion in the Olympic Games has been questioned repeatedly due to the pervasive corruption that seems to taint every level of its administration. Today’s incident only reinforces the belief that as long as the sport remains under the control of a biased and corrupt leadership, its future in the Olympics will remain uncertain.

It’s high time that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the global sports community take a hard look at Taekwondo’s place in the Olympics. The blatant manipulation and lack of transparency must end if the sport is to have any hope of surviving. The responsibility lies not just with the WT leadership but with every official who has turned a blind eye to the corruption that festers within this organization.

As we look back at the events of today, one can only feel a deep sense of disappointment and disillusionment. What should have been a moment of triumph for Joaquín Churchill and Chile has instead become another chapter in the ongoing saga of Taekwondo’s decline. The athletes deserve better. The sport deserves better. The Olympic Games deserve better.

This piece demands accountability and shines a light on the deep-seated issues within the World Taekwondo Federation. Let’s hope that the global community hears this call and steps up to protect the integrity of Taekwondo and the Olympic Games as a whole.

Heads must roll, let’s just hope it is not taekwondo’s head this time… Because it will be on time if this is not corrected.