Ugandan boxer Aziz Abdul has accused officials of racism following his disqualification from the Commonwealth Games, a claim organisers have rejected.
Abdul, the grandson of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, was disqualified during his super-heavyweight bout against England’s Damar Thomas after he was ruled to have headbutted his opponent in the third round.
The 25-year-old boxer alleged that the judges were biased against him because he is a “black African”, insisting that Thomas had committed fouls that were not penalised.
“When you watch the previous fights of England, their boxers create a lot of fouls,” Abdul said, adding that some of his punches were also not properly scored.
However, Commonwealth Sport president Donald Rukare dismissed the racism allegations, insisting that athletes are treated fairly and without discrimination.
“We at Commonwealth Sport believe every athlete is treated fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner. We are inclusive. That is a field-of-play decision and that is something that was said in the heat of the moment,” Rukare said.
Abdul, who had been seeking to win Uganda’s first Commonwealth boxing medal since 1990, argued that the head movement that led to his disqualification was unintentional.
He claimed he had been elbowed by Thomas and insisted he had no intention of headbutting his opponent.
The Ugandan boxer also suggested that he believed Thomas had been favoured by the officials, saying he knew he would struggle to win unless he secured a knockout.
Thomas, who is now guaranteed at least a bronze medal, said he was disappointed with the manner in which the bout ended.
“It’s not the way I wanted to win,” he said, adding that he would now focus on his next fight.
Rukare said Abdul could face disciplinary action from the Ugandan team, noting that the boxer’s comments would be handled through the appropriate channels under the team’s code of conduct.
Before the bout, Abdul had attracted attention after expressing his desire to become the new “King of Scotland”, a reference to his grandfather, who controversially gave himself the title in 1976.
Idi Amin, who seized power in a 1971 coup, ruled Uganda for eight years and was responsible for a brutal regime during which hundreds of thousands of people were estimated to have been killed.
Abdul, who never met his grandfather, has previously spoken about being inspired by Amin, who was also a boxer before becoming president and military dictator of Uganda.
