THE YOUNG fighter controversially picked for Britain’s Olympic taekwondo team has been subjected to racist hate comments on Twitter and Facebook, claiming he has deprived a white Englishman, Aaron Cook, of a place at the London Games.
Lutalo Muhammad, who was born and brought up in east London and has been chosen instead of Cook for the under-80kg class, has become a central figure in the selection row.
Gary Hall, the national performance director for Sport Taekwondo UK, said yesterday: “Lutalo has shown respect and modesty throughout. It has not been pleasant for him but he has continued to prepare for the Games.”
The selection panel will reconvene in Manchester this week because the British Olympic Association (BOA) refused to accept the nomination of Muhammad, one of four home fighters picked.
It is the first time selectors in any sport have been asked to change their team. A BOA representative will attend the meeting, along with the coach of each fighter.
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The panel will consist of Hall, a non-executive director, three high- performance coaches (two of whom have a vote) and an international taekwondo expert. Muhammad, 21 today, won the under-87kg title at the European championships last month while Cook, 21, won the the under-80kg title. The Olympic weight category is for under-80kg but Muhammad has fought in that division.
Cook’s supporters believe he was omitted because last year he left the GB Taekwondo world-class performance programme, preferring to train on his own. Hall denies this.