Two Olympic Judges suspended by ISU

[Andrea82]

ISU announced the outcome of the inquiry into two Chinese judges.

Mr. Feng Huang (judge in the Pair event) is suspended as ISU Judge for Ice Dance and Single & Pair Skating and International Referee for Single and Pair Skating for 1 year

Ms Weiguang Cheng (judge in the Men Event) is suspended as ISU Judge for Single & Pair Skating and International Judge for Ice Dance for 2 years

Full decision on Huang:https://www.isu.org/communications/17359-case-2018-02-isu-vs-huang/file
Full decision on Chen: https://www.isu.org/communications/17361-case-2018-06-isu-vs-chen/file


Selected passages from decision on Huang:

Prior to the Olympic Winter Games 2018, on January 15, 2018, the ISU Officials Assessment Commission (OAC) sent a “Letter of Warning” to the Alleged Offender regarding his judging in the Pairs event at the ISU Grand Prix Final 2017. The letter read as follows:

The Panel finds that the Alleged Offender has violated Rule 430 ISU Special Regulations for Single and Pair Skating 2016 and the Code of Ethics 2017.
In the Pairs Short Program
The GOE scores for the Chinese Pair, Sui / Han, (where all elements had a +3 score) showed a clear tendency towards bias. However, some other colleagues, who have awarded a similar high score, have supported this result. The major criticism is his high tendency of low GOE scores for elements, executed by the couple Savchenko / Massot, which has not been supported by his fellow judges. He awarded his own two pairs the highest GOE of all competing pairs and amongst the medal candidates the second lowest GOE for the couple Savchenko / Massot.
The Program Component scores show anomalies that are very much like the GOE scores. As an example, the Chinese Pair Sui / Han have been awarded 49,25 total points by the Alleged Offender in the Components, while the best following pair in his ranking has received 4,0 points less.

In the Pairs Free Program
The marks of the Alleged Offender for the Free Program show the same approach to judging as in the Short Program. In general, he awarded his own pair, Sui / Han, the highest GOE score of +3 for each element, with the exception that when they made a major mistake he applied the lowest possible deduction of -1. Also, in his Free Program judging he shows a clear tendency to set a difference in points between his pair and their direct competitors. His highest GOE score was given to his own pair, and in the Program Components he also had set a difference of 2,25 points between Sui / Han and the next ranked pair. Such a tendency has not been supported by any other judge nor through the result. The Alleged Offender was the only judge, who awarded the Chinese couple Sui / Han the first place.


Selected passages from decision on Chen:

The ISU Official Assessment Commission (OAC) has examined the marks of the Alleged Offender and reported as follows:

Short Program:
National Bias S9 Not Possible:
1. Jin (China) 2nd in PC, after Hanyu
2. Jin higher than Fernandez and Chan in Skating Skills
3. Jin Outanding in SS, TR, C and IN
4. Judge S9 was 4 points higher in PC than the panel and 3 points higher tha

Free Program:
Judge S7 was too generous with GOEs for this skater. It clearly looks like National Bias, as S7 either rewarded for bullets, which were not there and/or did not make the
necessary reductions.

The Panel finds, that the Alleged Offender has violated Rule 430 ISU Special Regulations for Single and Pair Skating 2016 and the Code of Ethics 2017.

In the Short Program Men
The GOE scores for the Chinese skater Boyang (6 elements with a +3 score) show a clear tendency towards national bias. None of her other colleagues have supported this result.
The same applies to the Program Component scores. She is the only judge who awarded 9,25 for two components and 9,50 for three components. The fellow judges scored between 7,75 and 9,00, at an average of 8,25 for the components of Boynag in the Short Program.

In the Free Skating Pairs
The marks of the Alleged Offender for the Free Program show the same approach as in her judging of the Short Program. In general, she awarded the Chinese skater the highest GOE score (+3) on each element, with the exception that she applied a -3 for a fall and a +2 for a mediocre element. Whereas the other judges awarded GOE points between 0 and 2, the Alleged Offender used the maximum score of + 3 for 11 out of 13 elements.
Regarding the marks for the 5 components the Alleged Offender was the only judge of the panel who awarded to Boyang marks of 9.50 for four components, while all other judges had average component marks of less than 9.0.
There is no doubt that she preferred the Chinese skater over the other competitors and this fulfills the elements of national bias.


The Panel takes into consideration that the Alleged Offender has awarded marks for the Chinese skater which were not congruent with the real performance of the skater. Her marks were completely unrealistic and obviously aimed to prefer the Chinese skater and to put him on first place. By showing obvious and systematic national bias the Alleged Offender has committed one of the most serious ethical offences a judge can be accused of. The seriousness of her misconduct is aggravated by the fact that it was committed at the Olympic Winter Games, the doubtlessly most important and prestigious competition that exists in Figure Skating. Therefore, the Panel suspends the Alleged Offender not only for two years from now on but also excludes her from officiating at the occasion of the next Olympic Winter Games 2022 in Beijing.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Yikes!!

 

[chopinskate]

They should be suspended. It's a shame they were the only ones called out, however. But then, I guess, there will be zero judges remaining.

 

[MalAssada]

1 and 2 years isn't enough, IMO.

 

[Shayuki]

Hopefully they crack on these harder.

They should be suspended. It's a shame they were the only ones called out, however. But then, I guess, there will be zero judges remaining.

They were more blatant than usual homer judges. But it's a good precedent and should make the others a bit more scared. This could have significant impact on even the other homer judges, because they'd be afraid of this happening to them.

 

[Andrea82]

Chen is also barred from being a judge at next Olympics.

 

[xeyra]

So! Many! Exclamation! Points! in these reports.

Edit: Also, could use some proofreading. I've spotted some mistakes.

 

[Andrea82]

Does the fact the remarks from "ISU Official Assessment Commission" are not mentioned in Huang's decision (unlike for Chen's) suggest that the OAC didn't contest his marks too much?

 

[Andrea82]

So! Many! Exclamation! Points! in these reports.

Edit: Also, could use some proofreading. I've spotted some mistakes.

they love the !! They used lots of them when they suspended half of the Nepela Pairs panel a couple of years ago IIRC

and yes, they don't proof read them...."Judge S9 was 4 points higher in PC than the panel and 3 points higher tha"....I suppose "tha" stands for "than" and the rest of the line has been cut in cut and paste from OAC report

 

[yoloaxel]

Oh wow. Definitely right to punish them... hopefully it’ll set a precedent and make judges vote more seriously

 

[Eclair]

it's only going to scare the small feds. Big fed judges can do as they like without consequences. nothings changes.

Seriously, if the pulling out of hosting competitions is a reaction to this decision, then it's a disgrace. The last couple of years only once a host gave up their competition and that was Japan when they were hit by a massive tsunami and earthquake.

On the other hand, if this is a small fed's protest against unfair decisions of the ISU to small feds, then go them.

Especially the Pair's judge decision is ridiculous in relation to what other judges do. Doesn't the Spanish judge mark down Javi's opponents? Doesn't the French judge mark down Papadakis/Cizeron's opponents? I once did an excel table of Li Zijun's scores. The Kazakhstan judge also marked her down in competitions when Elizabeth Tursynbaeva was competing directly against her but gave above average scores if Elizabeth wasn't competing.

At the said GPF in particular, the German judge marked down Sui/Han's PCS in the SP, giving them 8's in performance and music interpretation. In the FS the PCS from the German judge for Sui/han were the lowest amongst all judges. So this is no national bias?

Although I said it then and at the Olympics, that the Chinese judges give out marks the dumbest and most obvious way, the scores from that pair's judge was not something out of ordinary in this corrupt figure skating judging system. Singling him out is the real bias ISU is showing.

 

[chopinskate]

Biases cancel out. These two did do it in the most obvious way, but they probably balanced other biases a little.

Them discarding just these two makes it stupider. But the ISU's motto is "Lower Your Standards", after all.

 

[icybear]

What a load of crap. When did ISU suddenly become so righteous? This is typical western double standard and hypocrisy against China. Other countries judges have scored more blatantly which have costed skaters of their deserved medals and ISU have done nothing.

 

[noskates]

It's a start! Unfortunately theses biases can effect the outcome of competitions. Whatever action the ISU takes is after the fact. If nothing else it might act as a deterrent to poor judging in the future. It's comforting to know that at least some of this is being reviewed.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Biases cancel out. These two did do it in the most obvious way, but they probably balanced other biases a little.

Them discarding just these two makes it stupider. But the ISU's motto is "Lower Your Standards", after all.

Or maybe we’re going to see the ISU start getting more and more involved. It’s only been a few years removed from anonymous judging after all. I know other judges need to face discipline too but we should support the ISU in doing this and hope for more.

As to selecting only the Chinese judges....meh...don’t cheat and you want open the door to be singled out. Who knows....maybe more judges are to come. I wonder how much influence this had with the Chinese decision not to host ISU events.

 

[xeyra]

they love the !! They used lots of them when they suspended half of the Nepela Pairs panel a couple of years ago IIRC

and yes, they don't proof read them...."Judge S9 was 4 points higher in PC than the panel and 3 points higher tha"....I suppose "tha" stands for "than" and the rest of the line has been cut in cut and paste from OAC report

Also, Free Program Pairs instead of Men.

 

[chopinskate]

Or maybe we’re going to see the ISU start getting more and more involved. It’s only been a few years removed from anonymous judging after all. I know other judges need to face discipline too but we should support the ISU in doing this and hope for more.

I doubt it, to be honest. Let's see.

As to selecting only the Chinese judges....meh...don’t cheat and you want open the door to be singled out. Who knows....maybe more judges are to come. I wonder how much influence this had with the Chinese decision not to host ISU events.

They should be suspended. But if a precedent was to be set, as some are claiming, wouldn't more impact have been created had they suspended the American one who also showed bias? Someone from a "big fed"? Or the German vice president (or whatever their post was) who held down S/H?

It's easy to do things like these, and have others claim it's to set a precedent.

 

[perspicuosity]

ISU announced the outcome of the inquiry into two Chinese judges.

Mr. Feng Huang (judge in the Pair event) is suspended as ISU Judge for Ice Dance and Single & Pair Skating and International Referee for Single and Pair Skating for 1 year

Ms Weiguang Cheng (judge in the Men Event) is suspended as ISU Judge for Single & Pair Skating and International Judge for Ice Dance for 2 years

Full decision on Huang:https://www.isu.org/communications/17359-case-2018-02-isu-vs-huang/file
Full decision on Chen: https://www.isu.org/communications/17361-case-2018-06-isu-vs-chen/file


Selected passages from decision on Huang:

Prior to the Olympic Winter Games 2018, on January 15, 2018, the ISU Officials Assessment Commission (OAC) sent a “Letter of Warning” to the Alleged Offender regarding his judging in the Pairs event at the ISU Grand Prix Final 2017. The letter read as follows:

The Panel finds that the Alleged Offender has violated Rule 430 ISU Special Regulations for Single and Pair Skating 2016 and the Code of Ethics 2017.
In the Pairs Short Program
The GOE scores for the Chinese Pair, Sui / Han, (where all elements had a +3 score) showed a clear tendency towards bias. However, some other colleagues, who have awarded a similar high score, have supported this result. The major criticism is his high tendency of low GOE scores for elements, executed by the couple Savchenko / Massot, which has not been supported by his fellow judges. He awarded his own two pairs the highest GOE of all competing pairs and amongst the medal candidates the second lowest GOE for the couple Savchenko / Massot.
The Program Component scores show anomalies that are very much like the GOE scores. As an example, the Chinese Pair Sui / Han have been awarded 49,25 total points by the Alleged Offender in the Components, while the best following pair in his ranking has received 4,0 points less.

In the Pairs Free Program
The marks of the Alleged Offender for the Free Program show the same approach to judging as in the Short Program. In general, he awarded his own pair, Sui / Han, the highest GOE score of +3 for each element, with the exception that when they made a major mistake he applied the lowest possible deduction of -1. Also, in his Free Program judging he shows a clear tendency to set a difference in points between his pair and their direct competitors. His highest GOE score was given to his own pair, and in the Program Components he also had set a difference of 2,25 points between Sui / Han and the next ranked pair. Such a tendency has not been supported by any other judge nor through the result. The Alleged Offender was the only judge, who awarded the Chinese couple Sui / Han the first place.


Selected passages from decision on Chen:

The ISU Official Assessment Commission (OAC) has examined the marks of the Alleged Offender and reported as follows:

Short Program:
National Bias S9 Not Possible:
1. Jin (China) 2nd in PC, after Hanyu
2. Jin higher than Fernandez and Chan in Skating Skills
3. Jin Outanding in SS, TR, C and IN
4. Judge S9 was 4 points higher in PC than the panel and 3 points higher tha

Free Program:
Judge S7 was too generous with GOEs for this skater. It clearly looks like National Bias, as S7 either rewarded for bullets, which were not there and/or did not make the
necessary reductions.

The Panel finds, that the Alleged Offender has violated Rule 430 ISU Special Regulations for Single and Pair Skating 2016 and the Code of Ethics 2017.

In the Short Program Men
The GOE scores for the Chinese skater Boyang (6 elements with a +3 score) show a clear tendency towards national bias. None of her other colleagues have supported this result.
The same applies to the Program Component scores. She is the only judge who awarded 9,25 for two components and 9,50 for three components. The fellow judges scored between 7,75 and 9,00, at an average of 8,25 for the components of Boynag in the Short Program.

In the Free Skating Pairs
The marks of the Alleged Offender for the Free Program show the same approach as in her judging of the Short Program. In general, she awarded the Chinese skater the highest GOE score (+3) on each element, with the exception that she applied a -3 for a fall and a +2 for a mediocre element. Whereas the other judges awarded GOE points between 0 and 2, the Alleged Offender used the maximum score of + 3 for 11 out of 13 elements.
Regarding the marks for the 5 components the Alleged Offender was the only judge of the panel who awarded to Boyang marks of 9.50 for four components, while all other judges had average component marks of less than 9.0.
There is no doubt that she preferred the Chinese skater over the other competitors and this fulfills the elements of national bias.


The Panel takes into consideration that the Alleged Offender has awarded marks for the Chinese skater which were not congruent with the real performance of the skater. Her marks were completely unrealistic and obviously aimed to prefer the Chinese skater and to put him on first place. By showing obvious and systematic national bias the Alleged Offender has committed one of the most serious ethical offences a judge can be accused of. The seriousness of her misconduct is aggravated by the fact that it was committed at the Olympic Winter Games, the doubtlessly most important and prestigious competition that exists in Figure Skating. Therefore, the Panel suspends the Alleged Offender not only for two years from now on but also excludes her from officiating at the occasion of the next Olympic Winter Games 2022 in Beijing.

I'm amazed (in a good way) that the ISU did something about this. At the time of the contest, it was so obvious that the Chinese judge had an agenda. And it's not just Sui / Han -- Yu / Zhang got inflated scores too.

 

[icybear]

Or maybe we’re going to see the ISU start getting more and more involved. It’s only been a few years removed from anonymous judging after all. I know other judges need to face discipline too but we should support the ISU in doing this and hope for more.

As to selecting only the Chinese judges....meh...don’t cheat and you want open the door to be singled out. Who knows....maybe more judges are to come. I wonder how much influence this had with the Chinese decision not to host ISU events.

Imao don't get your hopes up too high. ISU is basically run by the heads of the biggest federations. They're not going to ban their own judges from inflating their skaters.

 

[LucyH]

I am all for cracking down on blatant biased judging but how about looking at some big Feds too ISU? The US judge is also a disgrace and should be looked at but of course that is never going to happen