ISU seeks to revamp judging system

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- French skating chief Didier Gailhaguet pressured judges in the past and should be kicked out of the International Skating Union if he forced a French judge to cheat at the Olympics, an ISU vice president said Monday.

"As far I know, it is not the first time for Didier to make such pressure. There were other cases in the past," Katsuichiro Hisanaga of Japan said.

Asked whether Gailhaguet should be thrown off the ISU executive council if its members believe judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne's accusation that he urged her to vote for the Russians in pairs skating, Hisanaga replied:

"Certainly."

Le Gougne, who has been suspended indefinitely, wanted to tell the ISU her version of what happened. When the 11-member council met in a closed session at a downtown hotel, it did not allow her to appear. But Gailhaguet, a council member and France's Olympic team chief, said she would be allowed to speak at another time.

Gailhaguet was asked to leave the meeting midway through when other members reviewed Le Gougne's statements that he pressured her to vote for the Russians.

"We had to discuss about him," said Hisanaga, who described Gailhaguet's alleged behavior as "thoughtless."

At the meeting, Hisanaga said, Gailhaguet "totally denied" exerting any influence over Le Gougne.

Gailhaguet could not immediately be reached by telephone for comment.

Le Gougne provided the swing vote in a 5-4 decision that gave the gold to a Russian couple over Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier. After an outcry -- and accusations of vote-swapping among ice skating judges -- the ISU and International Olympic Committee awarded the Canadians their own gold medals.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the event, Le Gougne told the French sports daily L'Equipe that she had never made a deal involving the pairs competition.

"I judged in my soul and conscience," Le Gougne said in an interview published Monday. "I considered that the Russians were the best. I never made a deal with an official or a Russian judge."

From Sports Illustrated • Kostya Kennedy: Great One goes off • Michael Farber: Eh for effort • Austin Murphy: Dramatic gold for Aussie • Kostya Kennedy: Initial impressions important • SI Daily: Simply Tsuper • Medal Picks: Predicting the top 3 Features • CNNSI.com's Darren Eliot     U.S.-Belarus Analysis     Canada-Czech Republic     Russia-Finland • Viewers' Guide: Feb. 18 • CNN Student News: From Salt Lake • Schedule & Results | Medal Tracker From Time • Nancy Kerrigan: Rules need to be changed • Complete Coverage: Time goes to Utah From CNN/Money • Chris Isidore: Olympics' no-name sponsors • Special Coverage: Olympics Inc. Multimedia • Video: Olympics Report: Day 11 • Video: Surprise finish • Photo Gallery: Day 10 | Archive • Video Archive: A collection from the Games

Hisanaga doubted Le Gougne's reversal.

"There is no question she already admitted ... to the pressure," he said.

Asked whether she said the pressure came from Gailhaguet, Hisanaga said, "Yes ... she admitted. He denied it."

"Things happen," he said. "Day after day the story is changed."

The ISU meeting was intended to restore credibility to a judging system that has shaken the games. Yet as they hammered out a reform package, the scandal raged while other witnesses to Le Gougne's admission of cheating lambasted her sudden denial.

Le Gougne told L'Equipe she was verbally attacked by ISU technical committee chairwoman Sally Stapleford last week in the lobby of the same hotel where the ISU council met Monday, and felt physically threatened because of the way she had voted.

American attorney John Jackson, an ISU championship judge, witnessed Le Gougne's outburst, along with Stapleford and two other technical committee members, Walburga Grimm of Germany and Britta Lindgren of Sweden. He said Le Gougne has it all wrong.

"The French judge's characterization of what happened is inaccurate," Jackson said. "Her admission was unsolicited, unequivocal and clear. There's no question about it. It was witnessed by at least four parties."

Jackson also laughed off Le Gougne's assertion that Stapleford came up with the idea that the French judge may have been pressured to vote as she did by Gailhaguet and that Stapleford was part of a Canadian conspiracy to reverse the decision. Stapleford was born in Britain, grew up there and still lives in London, but also has a Canadian passport because her father was Canadian.

"When accusations get that ridiculous, it's an indication that people are running scared," Jackson said.

Stapleford also denied Le Gougne's allegation Monday, saying she saw Le Gougne in the hotel and she "ran off in a very emotional state."

"Obviously, the lady is a very emotional woman," Stapleford said. "I can't say exactly what she said because it's confidential, but it was in the letter I wrote with two others. There were numerous witnesses."

Stapleford said Grimm and Lindgren also signed the letter that was submitted to the referee as required by ISU rules. Jackson said he wrote another letter to ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta and gave a copy to the referee last Wednesday.

For the ISU, the thornier problem is how to stop anything like this from happening again.

Hisanaga was asked if he was disheartened by the judging scandal and the black mark it has left on these games.

"It's not a big surprise for me," he said, "Figure skating ... it happens."

 

Related information
Stories
French win original dance despite 6.0 for Russians French judge denies wrongdoing
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.