Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Kellie Harrington fumes at judges as she loses on split decision at Strandja multi-nations tournament

Kellie Harrington was left bitterly disappointed after losing via split decision at the Strandja multi-nations tournament this afternoon.

The Dublin fighter faced Nune Asatarian of Russia in the last 16 in the 60kg category after beating Poland's Aneta Rygielska on Monday.

Harrington was convinced she had won the bout and blasted the judges after the Russian was called as the winner.

Four of the judges scored the bout 29-28 in Asatarian's favour, with the other scoring it 30-27 to Harrington.

The 31-year-old went towards the judges after the bout and shouted: "What are you watching? F***ing hell. Maybe you need to go to Specsavers to get your eyes tested. Absolute disgrace."

As she was pulled away by her coaches, she added: "It's not fair."

Harrington took to Twitter after the bout to tweet a 'You need glasses' gif.

It is not the first time an Irish fighter has been on the wrong end of a controversial decision against a Russian fighter.

Michael Conlan said he was 'robbed' after losing via unanimous decision to Vladimir Nikitin in the bantamweight quarter-finals at the 2016 Olympics.

Speaking after the bout, the Belfast boxer said: "I came for gold and I've been cheated. I'll not do another Olympics. I would advise anybody not to compete for the AIBA (Amateur International Boxing Association).

"At the end of the first round, it had been so easy, so comfortable, I wasn't even out of breath. I said 'I'll win this easy'. But I was told I was down. I had to go to war.

"I fought him at his own game. I pulled back that second round then I outfought him in the last round.

"I've been robbed of my Olympic dream."

Conlan defeated Nikitin in a professional bout in December 2019.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.