Michael Conlan has opened up about the referee’s favouritism towards his opponent during his shocking loss at Rio.
The Irish boxing star has revealed that he believes referee Kheira Sidi Yakoub put him off his game by saying unusual statements to him through out the match.
He told Off The Ball,”Even before the fight the referee said to me ‘keep your head up’. Why would you say that even before the fight, just as I had stepped into the ring? During the fight she was constantly on me saying ‘keep your head up Conlan and one more I am going to warn you’.”
The boxing champ went on to say that looking back on the match he finds it very annoying that the referee was giving his opponent Nikitin more attention through out the game.
He said, “When he was cut she was cleaning me instead of cleaning him. I just didn’t understand it. In the second round he was knackered and she was taking me over and cleaning me and then cleaning him, giving him extra time to get his breath back. To me he was gassing. Thinking back on it now, it is annoying.”
We’re still so proud of you, Michael!
