The bout review rule has been reintroduced by IBA ©Getty Images

International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev has insisted that the organisation needs to "change the culture of our officials instead of forbidding things" after opting to reintroduce the bout review process.

The system had been suspended and placed under review by IBA but a decision has now been taken by the organisation’s Board of Directors to put the rule back in place after discussing the work of referees and judges.

Kremlev confirmed in May that the IBA had stopped using the bout review process while "we concentrate on core elements of R&J (referees & judges) work" following criticism from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

However, the IBA has now revealed that all sanctioned competitions will be able to use the system.

Under the ruling, team managers can lodge a protest within 15 minutes of a points decision being made on a bout.

Should the protest be accepted by the technical delegate, a jury will then review the bout.

Each team are allowed up to three failed bout reviews per competition, according to the rules.

IBA President Umar Kremlev claimed that there were
IBA President Umar Kremlev claimed that there were "no issues" with refereeing and judging at the past two World Championships ©IBA

The IBA has yet to give an exact reason why a decision has been made to reintroduce the bout review process.

But Kremlev stressed the importance of focusing on ensuring a high standard of officials.

"We need to change the culture of our officials instead of forbidding things, as this is more efficient," said Kremlev.

"There were no issues with refereeing and judging at the latest IBA Men’s World Championships in Serbia and IBA Women’s World Championships in Turkey because [Richard] McLaren’s team did a great job, vetted the officials and selected the best.

"R&Js need to know that their work will be closely assessed."

Judging and refereeing was one of the areas of concern for the IOC when it decided to strip IBA of any involvement in the boxing competition at Tokyo 2020.

The judging scandal at Rio 2016 contributed to that suspension in 2019 after all 36 referees and judges involved in the Games were banned following suspicious results.

Following a review, Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren found that the manipulation of bouts continued "unabated" at several major boxing events after Rio 2016.

The IOC is again set to organise boxing events at Paris 2024 due to ongoing concerns with IBA’s governance and the sport has been left off the initial programme for Los Angeles 2028.

insidethegames has contacted the IBA for a comment.