Disgust as everything goes China’s way amid Olympic ‘cheating’ accusations

A rival country has taken official action over what it claims is an “unfair” pro-China bias infiltrating the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

An angry South Korea said it will appeal to sport’s top court over “unfair” officiating in short track speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics after two gold medal hopes were disqualified.

In Monday’s men’s 1000m semi-finals, world record holder Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were disqualified for illegal late passing and lane-changing respectively, having coming first and second in their heats.

The decisions allowed two Chinese skaters to advance to the final, with the host country collecting gold and silver.

The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) said it would file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) “to formalise the injustice of this decision”.

“We plan to do our best to prevent injustice from happening to our athletes in the international ice skating and sporting communities,” KSOC said in a statement.

The penalties enraged South Koreans, with many claiming the refereeing was biased.

One online user called the officiating “horrible”, adding: “It’s only making decisions that are extremely in favour of China.”

South Korea lodged a protest with the International Skating Union over Hwang’s fate, but that was rejected as disqualification for rule violations cannot be challenged.

Hungary also filed a protest after Liu Shaolin Sandor received a yellow card for two penalties in the 1000m final, but it was also rejected.

China has been racking up medals on the ice. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

In Beijing, the South Korean team called a press conference to express its outrage.

“I believe our athletes all played fairly and I believe they are the winners,” said chef de mission Yoon Hong-geun, adding South Korea had demanded a meeting with the International Olympic Committee.

“We hope that such things will never ever happen again in the future.”

South Korean media has also lashed out. The New York Times reports Korean broadcaster SBS aired a segment titled “Top 10 worst moments of cheating by China” and a newspaper in Seoul published an article where the headline read: “Just let China take all the medals.”

Speaking before the Korean press conference, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said it was “a field of play issue” and there had been “no formal communication” with the Korean team.

South Korean speed skater Kwak Yoon-gy was livid at the officiating and spoke his mind after China won gold in the mixed team relay.

The host nation finished third in its semi-final but still advanced to the decider after Russia (ROC) and the USA were disqualified for obstruction and blocking, while South Korea was eliminated in a different race. Kwak said China should have been disqualified too.

“Looking at the way China won the gold medal, I felt bad that my younger teammates had to watch something like that,” Kwak said, per the Yonhap news agency.

“I thought to myself, ‘Is this really what winning a gold medal is all about?’ Things all just felt very hollow.

“I was watching that race unfold. I figured China, ROC and the US would get penalised. The Dutch skaters who were watching it with me said the same thing.

South Korea’s world record holder Hwang Dae-heon was disqualified. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

“But as the review dragged on, I figured China was going to be allowed to progress. And when the call was finally made, I found it difficult to accept it.

“If it had been any other country than China in that situation, I wondered if that team would still have been allowed to reach the final like that?

“I felt that could have been us at the wrong end of all this.

“I thought about how upsetting and frustrating it would have been if we’d been a part of that.”

Kwak’s criticism came as some speculated Chinese skater Ren Ziwei received favourable treatment in his clash with Liu Shaolin Sandor in the men’s 1000m final. Ren appeared to grab Shaolin Sandor across the chest as they crossed the finish line, and the result went to review as officials checked for other penalties.

The Hungarian was ultimately disqualified but social media users pointed at photos of the tussle and questioned if Ren — who won gold — should have been penalised instead for initiating contact with his rival.

Was Ren Ziwei (right) in the wrong? Photo: Getty Images.