Boxing: Azerbaijani official expelled for talking to team

By Padraic Halpin

LONDON (Reuters) - An Azerbaijani boxing official was expelled from the London Olympic Games on Thursday for breaking his contract by communicating with his country's team, according to an AIBA document obtained by Reuters.

The International Amateur Boxing Association said earlier on Thursday that International Technical Official Aghajan Abiyev had been sent home following a number of breaches of the association's code of conduct.

Abiyev broke two of the codes in his contract, according to a copy seen by Reuters. Code 7 forbids technical officials from communicating with anybody about any competition, especially persons from their own country or national federation.

Also on Thursday, referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov from Turkmenistan was expelled from the Games while a second referee, Frank Scharmach of Germany, was suspended for five days by AIBA.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Ken Ferris)