“Stunned by the statement”: Judo Association speaks out after beating attack

The 24-year-old Japaridze from JC Leipzig beat Cavelius, who was fighting for TSV Abensberg, until he was hospitalized and broke his jaw. The Georgian tried to explain why this freakout happened via Instagram. He wanted to make it clear, he wrote, that this incident was “not the result of emotions” triggered by the sporting defeat.

Association: Relativization is “not tolerable”

“The reason was different: the opponent’s defamatory behavior towards me, both verbally and through gestures. This is also completely unacceptable in sport and in the context of sporting ethics – and primarily unacceptable for me as a Georgian and as a man,” Japaridze wrote. The German Judo Federation said: “We cannot tolerate or even defend this serious bodily harm and is incompatible with the basic principles of our sport.”

The fighter, who had since returned to Georgia, had lost a fight against the German. He then showed a clenched fist in the direction of his team and also in the direction of the Georgian. Then Japaridze suddenly hit his opponent and seriously injured his face.

The national association made it clear that the beating had nothing to do with the relationship between the clubs or the relationship between the two nations. “We are not talking about an emotional tussle or an understandable level of escalation after an alleged provocation. This was a massive attack that carried the risk of serious physical injuries,” wrote the German Judo Association.

Cavelius, who was immediately operated on after the incident last Saturday at the Leipzig University Hospital and had his jaw fixed with three plates, now has to wait another ten to twelve weeks until he can fight again.

“I am on the road to recovery,” Cavelius told dpa. Looking back, he said: “Even if my celebration triggered negative emotions in Akaki Japaridze, this cannot explain or justify such an excess of violence. I neither verbally insulted nor physically attacked him.”