Chinese figure skating judge banned for bias back at Beijing Games

Huang Feng received a one-year suspension in June 2018 for biased judging of pairs figure skating at the Pyeongchang Olympics that year

A Chinese figure skating judge who served a suspension for giving preferential marks to his compatriots will serve on a technical judging panel at the Beijing Winter Olympics, competition records show, drawing consternation from a competitor affected by his work in the past.

Huang Feng received a one-year suspension in June 2018 for biased judging of pairs figure skating at the Pyeongchang Olympics that year.

For the Beijing Games, which begin on Friday, Huang is listed as a technical controller, an official who supervises technical specialists and can propose corrections regarding the level of difficulty identified for a given element.

When the International Skating Union (ISU) disciplinary commission suspended Huang in 2018, it said he had shown "obvious and systematic bias" at the Pyeongchang Games.

"The seriousness of his 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," its decision said.

Huang moved to have all charges against him dismissed, according to the ISU disciplinary commission.

Huang could not be reached for comment. The Chinese Figure Skating Association did not respond to a request for comment and a call to its office went answered.

The ISU, which had sought to bar Huang from officiating in Beijing, did not respond to a request for comment.

Prior to the 2018 Games, the ISU Officials Assessment Commission sent Huang a letter saying that his judging at the 2017 ISU Grand Prix Final showed "clear support for the two Chinese pairs without any objective reasons either in elements and in components".