The row between British Judo and the European Judo Union (EJU) centred on the controversial Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) sponsorship deal, which caused the continent's judo's governing body to cancel the event in Glasgow.

They claimed "British Judo Association does not fit the EJU criteria to host the EJU flagship event".

They subsequently awarded the European Judo Championships to Baku, and the event will now take place as part of the inaugural European Games, due to be held from June 12 to 28.

UFC have since decided to step down from the sponsorship agreement with the BJA with immediate effect.

The mixed martial arts (MMA) company were also due to partner the British Open in London in July but the two parties have come to an "amicable agreement" to terminate the deal early.

In an attempt to alleviate the pressure from the BJA following a threat from the EJU that the event would be cancelled if they remained involved, UFC withdrew their support for the European Championships, due to take place from April 9 to 12 at the Emirates Arena.

It proved to be in vein, however, as the EJU decided to strip Glasgow of their hosting rights shortly after UFC had made their announcement.

The European Judo Championships were due to be held in Glasgow before the EJU stripped the city of their hosting rights following a row over UFC's sponsorship of the event ©EJU



The scandal rocked European judo and it is claimed that the independent review will give answers to some of the questions the row posed.

the results are due to be published by June.

"Although I remain saddened by the events over the last month, it is important for us to move forward now, and an independent review is an important step forward," BJA chairman Kerrith Brown said.

"We are grateful of for the support of UK Sport in this process.

"We know questions remain amongst our membership over how the events of the last month have unfolded and we hope that that this review can both answer those questions and allow us to move forward together as an association."

The EJU also claimed that the BJA's partnership "did not meet EJU values".

It came after International Judo Federation (IJF) President Marius Vizer had warned last year that a migration of judokas to other sports would represent a "spiritual contamination" of the sport amid fears that top stars were being lured to mixed martial arts.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
February 2015: European Judo Championships taken away from Glasgow to be held as part of Baku 2015
February 2015: British Judo Association concede defeat in bid to reverse decision to cancel Glasgow European Championships
February 2015: Glasgow stripped of 2015 European Judo Championships after sponsorship row
February 2015: Glasgow threatened with loss of European Judo Championships after UFC sponsorship deal
February 2015: UFC to help support 2015 European Judo Championships in Glasgow