Everyone’s favourite probably-already-dead commie dictator, Fidel Castro, is taking the high road in the case of the ref-kicking taekwondo competitor. Just kidding. He accused everyone of taking bribes and admonished the rest of the world for stealing Cuban athletes:

HAVANA – 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.

[...]

“They had tried to buy his own coach,” Castro wrote in his essay published in state media. “He could not contain himself.”

Cuba is accustomed to winning golds in boxing, but settled this year for four silver and four bronze medals. Overall, Cuba took home only two golds, down from nine in Athens four years ago.

“I saw when the judges blatantly stole fights from two Cuban boxers in the semifinals,” Castro wrote. “Our fighters … had hopes of winning, despite the judges, but it was useless. They were condemned beforehand.”

The ailing, 82-year-old ex-president also noted that defections have taken their toll, blaming “the repugnant mercenary actions” of promoters who lure Cuban boxers off the island with lucrative contracts.

I predict that Matos will be awarded Cuba’s highest honour (The Purple Cubana of Communist Brotherhood and Salad Bar), and will promptly defect to the US to become an MMA star.

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