Replay of Olympic handball qualifier creates tensions in Asian handball

Japan and South Korea now look set to battle for the right to compete at the Beijing Games, as three Middle Eastern nations and Kazakhstan sit out the event.

The AHF rejected the decision by the IHF, stating, according to the Arab Times, “there were no reasonable legal reasons behind this step”. The newspaper reports that the AHF will ban countries participating in the tournament from AHF competitions.

The decision was a direct result of pressure by the Japanese and Korean handball federations, who questioned the impartiality of Middle Eastern referees officiating in the initial qualifying tournament, which saw Kuwait qualify from the men’s pool and Kazakhstan from the women’s.

Tensions within the Asian Handball Federation are mounting as a result of the replays, with the AHF holding an emergency meeting on 27 January, the same day as the replays are due to be held.

Korea coach Tae-Hoon Kim, whose team look set to take part in a olympic qualifying replay in January, discussing tactics with national team players during 2007 Men's World Championships. Photo (c) Axel Heimkin and International Handball Federation

Separate qualifying tournaments for East and West Asia have been mooted before by the Korean and Japanese handball federations, and if banned, Japan and Korea might take the next steps towards forming a new federation outright. 

Clear bias
The outcomes of the original tournaments were widely criticised after a series of suspicious refereeing decisions resulted in suspicions of corruption within the Kuwaiti based Asian Handball Federation in favour of the Kuwaiti team.

In 2007, Play the Game reported upon the anger felt by South Korean handball representatives over the performance of two Jordanian referees who officiated in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Japan between the Korean and Kuwaiti men’s teams (click here to read more).

A series of controversial decisions by the referees in favour of the Kuwaitis, led to a courtside intervention by an IHF observer and protests by both the Korean team and the neutral Japanese fans in the arena.

The Koreans claim the decision by the AHF to switch the two IHF selected German referees selected to officiate in the match for two Jordanians, was evidence of clear bias by the Kuwaiti based and headed AHF.

Similar suspicions dogged the women’s qualifying tournament, where Kazakhstan topped the group over favourites South Korea.

It was not the first time the Koreans have suspected foul play in handball tournaments, with the 2005 Asian Games in Doha also under question as a result of suspicious refereeing decisions.
 
Unprecedented move
The move is unprecedented both in Olympic and IHF history.

While no direct allegations have been levelled by both bodies against the AHF, the move implicitly suggests that at the very least, the IHF are unconvinced that the AHF is innocent.

The replay will be held under the auspices of the IHF in Japan, before the end of January 2008 as in line with Olympic qualifying protocol.

In a statement issued on 17 December 2007, the IHF also implied that future international tournaments will be held under their auspices.