Three referee supervisors have been recognised by the International Judo Federation

Three referee supervisors have been recognised by the International Judo Federation (IJF).

The trio were celebrated at a gala hosted by the Azerbaijan Judo Federation following the end of the Baku Grand Slam tournament.

Romania's Florin Daniel Lascau, Alexander Jatskevich of Russia and Britain's Neil Adams were all awarded IJF Honorary Referee status.

The decision was made due to their "exceptional competitive careers" with the three men hailed for their coaching and "immense knowledge of judo".

Florin Daniel Lascau, third left, Alexander Jatskevich, third right, and Neil Adams, second right, were all awarded Honorary Referee status by International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer, second left, ©IJF
Florin Daniel Lascau, third left, Alexander Jatskevich, third right, and Neil Adams, second right, were all awarded Honorary Referee status by International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer, second left, ©IJF

Honorary badges were presented by the IJF's head referee director Jan Snijders before referee ties were handed out by the IJF's referee director Bernd Achilles.

Marius Vizer, President of the IJF, then handed out certificates.

"I am pleased to present honorary referee certificates to Florin Daniel Lascau, Alexander Jatskevich and Neil Adams, who have all contributed greatly to the positive movement and direction of our sport," said Vizer.

"I wish all of them a successful collaboration with the IJF senior referees for the benefit of the judo community."

Adams is a double Olympic silver medallist, winning medals at Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984.

He also won the under-78 kilograms world title in 1981 in Maastricht and five European titles.