Moroccan boxer arrested, removed from Olympics after alleged sexual assaults

RIO DE JANEIRO – A light heavyweight boxer from Morocco was ousted from the Olympics on Friday, hours after he was suspected of sexually assaulting two waitresses in the Olympic Village.

Hassan Saada, 22, was arrested by police here Friday. The incident is alleged to have occurred on Wednesday.

Saada was scheduled to box on Saturday in the opening round of the light heavyweight tournament. Not a medal favorite, he was set to meet Mehmet Nadir of Turkey in a bout that was scheduled to begin Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Nadir will advanced to meet top-seeded Julio Cesar La Cruz of Cuba on Wednesday.

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A spokesperson for the Moroccan Olympic Committee failed to return a message. AIBA, which runs the Olympic boxing tournament, released a brief statement.

“AIBA has taken note of the serious allegations made against a Moroccan boxer who was due to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games,” Nicolas Jomard, the senior corporate and media relations manager for AIBA, said in a statement given to Yahoo Sports. “We understand that the situation is being dealt with by the local Brazilian authorities and have complete confidence that they will handle the matter appropriately. AIBA will not make any further comments at this time and asks that the media direct any queries on this subject to the Moroccan NOC.”

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According to Brazilian law, Saada will be jailed for 15 days while a rape investigation is conducted.

Saada fought twice in the World Series of Boxing, the semi-pro series run by AIBA. He was 1-1. He won a decision over England’s Thomas Whitaker-Hart on Feb. 5, and was stopped in the third round by Jonathan Esquivel of the U.S. on April 1.

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