Last night, we watched Britain's Anthony Joshua take on Erislandy Savon from Cuba in the super-heavyweight boxing. This was the final bout in a session which had already seen some extremely poor officiating, as an Iranian heavyweight was unfairly disqualified in the first round for a few minor holding infringements. That trend was about to continue.
Theirs was a riveting contest and Joshua fought well behind a penetrating jab. But Savon landed more shots; cleaner shots. To our untrained eyes the first round was at best a close call, but Savon edged the second and dominated the third, leaving Joshua holding on desperately at the end of the fight. As the final bell sounded, Savon raised his hands and celebrated a hard-fought victory with his corner. Or so he thought. As you can see from this footage of the final round and decision, everyone, including Joshua, seemed rightly stunned when the referee raised the British fighter's hand to confirm that he had won by a single point.
Now we're as patriotic as the next owl, and we'll support every British athlete throughout these Games - even Andy Murray. But while we desperately want to see them win, we don't want them to win like this. Like most sports fans, we've despaired at previous decisions in other countries where supposedly impartial judges have been swayed to favour home fighters. With a level playing field, this should still be the most successful Olympics in British boxing history. Let's hope that ambition is realised through sheer skill and effort rather than administrative incompetence.
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