Scandal at a South American karate tournament: a judge disqualified an athlete for having a physical disability

A situation generated repudiation during a new edition of the South American Karate Championship that is being held in Guayaquil, Ecuador. A judge disqualified an athlete from Brazil within 30 seconds of his fight when he saw that he was missing one of his hands.

Flavio Faria, 17, member of the Brazilian national team in the 73-kilo kumite category, suffered a domestic accident in 2013 that made it difficult for him to have his right hand amputated along with part of his wrist.

“He was going to compete and when he was already on the canvas in the middle of the fight (there were 30 seconds of fighting) they interrupted him, because they identified that he had no hand. So, they paralyzed him and disqualified him,” explained Átila Fandiño, one of the young karate's coaches. Once the judge disqualified him from the tournament, the other athletes of the Brazilian national team jointly complained about the arbitration decision.

“When the Brazilian team, their teammates in the championship, heard the news, they immediately mobilized and invaded the mats, sat down and interrupted the entire competition. The referees then decided to end the competition for the day and rescheduled it for Saturday,” said Fandiño.

Almost a decade ago, the young man had accompanied his father to a neighbor's house to help him cook. When the two of them were in another room of the house, they heard Flavio's screams. The boy was found with his right hand inside the meat grinder.

After what happened in the South American event, the Brazilian Karate Confederation appealed for Flavio Farias to be able to fight again, as confirmed by national team coach Wanderlei Machado.

“We are very calm here, we are waiting for the start of the competition. This is the cause of Flávio, to raise the situation of people with disabilities, to raise the situation of blacks from poor families. We are calm and waiting. God willing, he will soon be on the canvas, defending Brazil,” said Faria's coach.

The athlete, born in Passos, Minas Gerais, has already managed to become a South American medalist. He won bronze in 2019, in the competition held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

When Flavio had the dramatic accident that caused him to lose one of his hands, he was close to competing. Despite that, and from his humble family, he was able to get ahead and be an athlete who overcame his disability. He was a state champion and also of Brazil on several occasions and now he dreams of continuing to make history for karate in his country.

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