Ugandan heavyweight boxer Aziz Abdul has criticised the officiating after being disqualified from his Commonwealth Games bout against England’s Damar Thomas, insisting the decision was unfair and suggesting the judges favoured the home fighter.
Abdul, 25, saw his medal hopes come to a heartbreaking end after the referee disqualified him early in the third round for what was deemed to be an intentional headbutt during a clinch. The incident occurred as both fighters were grappling, with the referee ruling that Abdul had driven his head into Thomas’ chin.
The disqualification ended Uganda’s hopes of winning its first Commonwealth Games boxing medal since 1990, while Thomas progressed to the semi-finals, guaranteeing England at least a bronze medal.
However, Abdul refused to accept the outcome, arguing that he had been treated unfairly throughout the contest.
“All I can say about this is the decision is not right. I am not happy,” Abdul said after the fight.
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Aziz Abdul blames officiating after Commonwealth Games disqualification
The Ugandan boxer maintained that the clash was accidental and claimed he had instead been on the receiving end of illegal blows from his opponent.
“He elbowed me. He caught me with the elbow. It was not intentional. I was trying to come back. How can I headbutt someone? I would not.”
Abdul went even further by questioning the neutrality of the officiating, suggesting the judges were influenced by the fact that Thomas was competing in front of a home crowd.
“When you watch the previous fights, England’s boxers create a lot of fouls,” he claimed.
“I land a heavy punch on him, they never count. Instead of counting they deduct me.”
He also alleged that his nationality played a role in how the bout was judged.
“I am a black African. He is in the homeland.”
According to Abdul, he entered the contest believing that only a knockout would give him any chance of progressing.
“He was the person they wanted to win. He was the winner before. I knew if I did not get a knockout, I could not win the fight.”
Before the referee stopped the contest, Abdul had already received warnings in the opening two rounds and was trailing on all three judges’ scorecards, leaving him with plenty of work to do in the final round.
On the other side of the ring, Thomas admitted the circumstances of his victory were far from ideal, despite securing a place in the medal rounds.
“It’s not the way I wanted to win,” the English boxer said.
“I can’t change what happened today, but I can control how I box on Friday.”
Abdul has attracted considerable attention throughout the Games because of his family background. He is the grandson of former Ugandan ruler Idi Amin, who governed the country between 1971 and 1979.
Despite the historical spotlight surrounding his surname, Abdul has repeatedly insisted that he wants to build his own identity through boxing.
Unfortunately for the Ugandan, his Commonwealth Games campaign ended in controversy rather than celebration, with his post-fight remarks now likely to generate further debate over officiating standards. Commonwealth Games organisers and World Boxing are yet to respond publicly to his allegations.
For Uganda, the wait for another Commonwealth boxing medal continues, while Abdul leaves Glasgow convinced that the result was decided by more than what happened inside the ring.
