A video of German Judo coach slapping and shaking judoka Martyna Trajdos ahead of her women's 63kg Round of 32 match on July 28 has gone viral. The video gained negative comments on social media after which the International Judo Federation (IJF) issued a "serious official warning" to the coach, today.
The regulatory body took to Twitter and said, “The IJF addressed a serious official warning towards the German coach, concerning the bad behaviour he showed during the competition.”
"Judo is an educational sport," the tweet continued, "and as such, we cannot tolerate such behaviour, which goes against the judo moral code. #respect."
In the viral video, Martyran can be seen stopping and then turning towards her coach Claudiu Pusa. He slaps her on both sides of the cheeks after shaking her back and forth. The video was shot as Pusa was motivating Mrtyna before her fight with Szofi Ozbas of Hungary.
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The video has sparked outrage and a series of jokes on the internet. Where one of the furious tweets read, "Abusive coach. Also it’s counter productive: even in martial arts athletes need cool heads and focus, not judgement clouded by aggression response,” another said, “Anyone who has done judo or combat sports understands. Best of luck in competition!"
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Meanwhile, “My first cup of coffee greeting me in the morning," joked a user. "In few families, women do this ritual on their husbands to wake him up," said another person.
Meanwhile, Trajados soon came out in support of her coach after criticism from all corners of the internet rained down on him. Writing on her Instagram stories, she said "Please don't blame my coach because he did exactly what I asked. I need this to wake up before my fights."