Sumo stablemaster Isegahama, who oversaw former yokozuna Harumafuji, resigned Wednesday from the board of directors at the Japan Sumo Association over the yokozuna's assault on a fellow wrestler, while two other yokozuna, Hakuho and Kakuryu, were slapped with pay cuts over their failure to stop the altercation, the JSA said.
The JSA's decision to fine the two came after its advisory body made a set of recommendations earlier in the day. The Yokozuna Deliberation Council, which met in an extraordinary session before the JSA's board of directors convened, said that Harumafuji's assault on lower-ranked Takanoiwa was grounds for requesting his retirement, even though he had already resigned voluntarily.
The council said Harumafuji, the 33-year-old top-tier yokozuna from Mongolia, should have been forced out of the sport had he not voluntarily ended his 17-year career.