International judo officials will begin using video footage at this year's world championships on a trial basis to help avoid controversy in refereeing, Japanese judo officials said Monday.
Under the decision, made by the International Judo Federation Executive Committee in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, the ringside judges will make video-aided judgments when asked by the referee officiating a match on the mat.
The federation will use the video as a tool to help judging for the first time at the world championships during the Sept. 8-11 meet in Cairo.
In Japan, test runs for video use have been made occasionally since Japanese heavyweight judoka Shinichi Shinohara lost in highly controversial fashion to David Douillet of France in the men's over 100-kg final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.