Sumo's chief referee will resign over a sexual harassment scandal, the sport's governing body said Saturday after an extraordinary meeting of its board of directors.
Shikimori Inosuke will not referee any further matches after receiving a three-tournament suspension, the Japan Sumo Association said at a news conference on the eve of the New Year Grand Tournament. The directors handed down the suspension at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, and will formally accept Shikimori's resignation when his ban is lifted following May's Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
The incident occurred while the association was still investigating another scandal over then-yokozuna Harumafuji's skull-cracking attack on a fellow wrestler in October.