Independent Investigation Reveals Boxing Officials Manipulated Results at Trials and at Rio 2016 Olympic Games

A comprehensive study of the bouts at Rio indicates a number of suspicious bouts where the integrity of the scoring is in question. It may be necessary to further examine other suspicious bouts since no definitive conclusion can be made at this time.

"The manipulation and corruption depended on the explicit participation of key personnel who took on powers they did not have on paper," said Professor McLaren. "For example, the Executive Director at Rio seized powers belonging to the permanent Commissions. He oversaw the appointment of referees and judges that were either in the know and complied with the manipulation or were incompetent but wanted to keep their jobs, so they complied or turned a blind eye."

"The qualifying competitions leading to participation in Rio in 2016 were the practise grounds for the corruption and manipulation of bouts at Rio," said Professor McLaren. "We will never know the precise number of officials involved, the number of bouts manipulated or the rewards for doing so."

This investigation has uncovered a number of officials and a number of key bouts where the integrity of the scoring is in question. Our information will be referred to the AIBA Disciplinary Committee for further action.

"We believe that that progress is being made but the problem was primarily a people problem. The personnel issues requires immediate up front attention," said Professor McLaren. "We have serious concerns and believe what we have uncovered represents the tip of the iceberg. We have much more work to do. This is only Stage One. We have two further stages to report on. In these subsequent stages, we will be piloting new technologies to assist in improving the selection processes."

Professor McLaren and his team were retained in June 2021 by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) to investigate possible irregularities in the judging and refereeing during the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. The next stages will involve a broad investigation to identify possible acts of corruption, mismanagement of funds, manipulation of results of elections or the like by AIBA past administrations and provide recommendations to correct the identified problems. 

The full report can be downloaded here: https://www.mclarenglobalsportsolutions.com/pdf/Boxing-Prelim-Report9-29-2021.pdf

CONTACT: Catherine Doyle, Avenue Strategic Communications, On behalf of MGSS, Tel: 514-641-3266, Email: [email protected]