Commonwealth Games chief Donald Rukare has dismissed claims of racism made by Ugandan boxer Aziz Abdul following his disqualification from his super-heavyweight bout against England’s Damar Thomas on Wednesday night.
Aziz, the grandson of the country’s late dictator Idi Amin, raged at the referee’s decision to throw him out for a headbutt in the third and final round, alleging he had been discriminated against because of his nationality.
“Of course it’s unfair,” said Aziz. “When you watch the previous fights of England, their boxers create a lot of fouls and they play a lot of bull****. I am a black African, I know. I don’t why the officials are scared about this fight.”
Rukare, the president of Commonwealth Sport, who is also Ugandan, dismissed his compatriot’s claims, saying: “We at Commonwealth Sport believe that every athlete is treated fairly in a non discriminatory manner.
“It was a field of play decision and I think that was probably something said in the heat of the moment. As far as we’re concerned, we have a good relationship with World Boxing, and the athletes are treated fairly.
“I don’t represent Uganda here, but I’m sure that the matter will be handled appropriately in terms of our colleague’s conduct, through the channels that we have.”
African nations have already guaranteed eight boxing medals at the Glasgow Games – three for Namibia, two each for Zambia and Lesotho, and one for Ghana.
World Boxing, which was granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee in February 2025, and is the federation responsible for organising the competition in Glasgow, did not wish to comment.
In a wild bout at the Scottish Exhibition Centre, Aziz, at least five inches shorter than his opponent, was given a standing count in the first round, penalised in the second for punching out of a clinch, then thrown out for butting Thomas’ chin in round three.
He had garnered plenty of attention in the build-up to the contest when it emerged he was the grandson of Amin, a brutal tyrant who is estimated to have killed or deported up to half a million Ugandans during his eight-year presidency.
Aziz had warned in the build-up that he would need to emulate one of his grandfather’s famous sayings if he was to emerge victorious and reach the semi-finals. Amin once advised that “the only way to defeat an enemy who is against the country is to win by knockout”.
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