Qatari Wrestler Disqualified After Refusing To Let Female Referee Raise His Hand
A Greco-Roman qualification bout at the 2026 Senior World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, ended in a disqualification after Qatar’s Amer Ebrahim A A Alhammadi refused to allow a female referee to take his hand when the result was announced.
The bout was in the 67 kg (147.7 lbs) division against Australia’s Tsuchika Shimoyamada.
Once the match ended with Shimoyamada the apparent winner, standard protocol called for the referee to raise the victor’s hand.
When the referee moved to complete the ceremony, Alhammadi reportedly told her not to touch him.
A standoff followed on the mat. The mat chairman, visible in the background, gave a clear instruction: “You can’t declare the win without touching hands.”
Alhammadi pleaded his case while Shimoyamada and the referee both tried to talk him into complying. He did not move from his position.
United World Wrestling’s rules require the referee to proclaim the winner in agreement with the mat chairman at the end of the bout, and wrestlers must stay on the mat until the result is announced.
With Alhammadi still refusing, officials enforced them.
He received a red card and lost by disqualification, and the result was recorded as a 10-0 victory by disqualification for Shimoyamada.
Shimoyamada advanced and met Kazakhstan’s Aytjan Khalmakhanov in the round of 16, where he lost 0-2 by fall.
The report does not say why Alhammadi objected, and no statement from him or from Qatar’s delegation was included.
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