A day after losing the flying disc shooting final at the 2024 Olympics, British shooter Amber Rutter accused the referee of ‘stealing’ her gold medal.

Amber Rutter has to settle for silver after controversial sudden-death shoot-off | The Independent
In the flying disc shooting final on August 4, Amber Rutter had a dramatic competition with Francisca Crovetto Chadid (Chile ) . After 60 shots, the two athletes were determined to have hit 55 targets and had to enter a tie-break series. When the tie-break score was 5-5, Francisca Crovetto Chadid unexpectedly made a mistake and if Amber Rutter had hit both flying discs in her turn, she would have won the gold medal. However, after completing the shot, the referee said that Amber Rutter had only hit one target. Taking advantage of this, Francisca Crovetto Chadid hit both targets, winning 7-6 and bringing the gold medal to Chile.

Amber Rutter and her coaching staff were furious and reacted strongly to the referees. The slow-motion video on television also showed that Amber Rutter hit both targets. Mr. Richard Brickell – Amber Rutter’s coach filed a complaint but according to Olympic rules , it was not considered. At the same time, the referees were not allowed to review the slow-motion video so the result remained the same.

British shooter accuses referee of 'stealing' Olympic gold medal: VAR is just for fun - Photo 1.

Amber Rutter (in black) protests the referee’s decision

On August 5, Amber Rutter suddenly appeared on BBC (UK) and criticized the referee team: “Obviously, if you were there, you would have seen that I hit two targets. However, I don’t understand why the referees said they didn’t see it. I went back and tried to appeal but they confirmed that I lost. They blatantly took the gold medal from me. After the match, I also received many messages saying that the referee made a mistake. That made me really hurt. I didn’t expect it to happen to me at the 2024 Paris Olympics.”

Notably, when interviewed by BBC, Amber Rutter also brought her 3-month-old child. She affirmed that she suffered many losses to compete and that she was not the only shooter who was insulted while participating in discus shooting.

“I know I am not the only one affected. There were other athletes in the final who hit the target but were not recognized. I also do not know if VAR technology or refereeing is useful here or if it is just for fun. All our efforts were shamefully denied.”

British shooter accuses referee of 'stealing' Olympic gold medal: VAR is just for fun - Photo 2.

Amber Rutter appears on BBC and criticises referee

British shooter accuses referee of 'stealing' Olympic gold medal: VAR is just for fun - Photo 3.

Amber Rutter just gave birth 3 months ago and she has to stay in the athletes village, not allowed to see her baby.

AFP

Many British newspapers such as The Guardian , Daily Mail and ITV also commented that the referee team made a mistake, causing Amber Rutter to regrettably lose the gold medal.

“It was clear that Rutter hit both targets. Every coach, every spectator in the stadium and everyone watching on TV saw it. Unfortunately the only people who didn’t see it were the referees. It was a huge mistake, especially when it comes to an important medal,” said Richard Brickell.