“It was not intentional. I was trying to come back. How can I headbutt someone? I would not.” Ugandan Boxer, Aziz Abdul said before he was planted off the ring.
Ugandan boxer Aziz Abdul was disqualified from his Commonwealth Games contest after appearing to headbutt his English opponent, Damar Thomas, during their super-heavyweight quarter-final bout.
The 25-year-old, who is the grandson of former Ugandan military ruler Idi Amin, was penalised after lifting his head into Thomas’ chin while both fighters were grappling in the third round.
The disqualification ended Abdul’s hopes of securing Uganda’s first Commonwealth Games boxing medal since 1990.
Following the bout, Abdul expressed dissatisfaction with the officiating, alleging that the judges were biased against him.
“When you watch the previous fights of England, their boxers create a lot of fouls,” he said.
“I land a heavy punch on him, they never count. Instead of counting, they deduct me.”
He also suggested that being a visiting African athlete influenced the outcome.
“I am a Black African. He is in his homeland,” Abdul added.
Before the competition, Abdul had spoken about his ambition to become the “King of Scotland,” a reference to one of the grandiose titles adopted by his grandfather, Idi Amin, during his rule of Uganda in the 1970s.
Although Abdul never met his grandfather, the family connection has drawn attention throughout his boxing career.
During the contest, Abdul had already received warnings in the opening two rounds and was trailing on all three judges’ scorecards before the incident that led to his disqualification.
Reacting to the referee’s decision, the Ugandan insisted the head clash was accidental and claimed Thomas had also committed fouls during the fight.
“All I can say is the decision is not right. I am not happy,” he said.
“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.”
“He was the person they wanted to win. He was the winner before.”
Thomas advanced to the next stage of the competition, while Abdul’s medal hopes came to an abrupt end following the controversial disqualification.
