Castro defends Matos, face-kicker

by julianw | August 25, 2008 at 11:33 am

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Fidel Castro is defending Angel Matos, the Cuban taekwondo fighter who kicked a referee in the face last Saturday (see here for analysis of the event by NowPublic contributor Hazel).

Fidel Castro on Monday defended the Cuban taekwondo athlete who kicked a referee in the face at the Beijing Olympics, saying Angel Matos was rightfully indignant over his disqualification from the bronze-medal match.

Taekwondo officials want Matos and his coach banned for life from the sport. But Castro expressed "our total solidarity" for both Matos and his coach Leudis Gonzalez.

Matos was winning 3-2 in the second round when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov, and was disqualified for taking more than his one minute of injury time.