Team GB star demands apology after controversial call denied her Olympic gold

Shooting star Amber Rutter has hit out at the poor officiating that denied her the chance to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.

Rutter won a silver medal in the women’s skeet for Team GB in Paris, but her achievement was tainted by controversy. The 26-year-old had to settle for second place after the judges determined she missed a shot – despite replays showing she had clipped the target.

Chile's Francisca Crovetto Chadid claimed victory on August 4 after Rutter and her coach’s complaints were dismissed by the officials. Rutter has now had time to take stock of the disappointment and remains angry at the injustice.

In a lengthy post on Instagram, she called for the Olympics to implement the VAR technology used at other competitions run by the International Shooting Sport Federation. And while Rutter now plans to enjoy her silver with her family and three-month old son Tommy, she also demanded an apology.

“There have been thousands of comments and images shared of me clearly hitting my final shot in the gold medal match shoot off. Due to a poor and incorrect decision by all three referees I was denied the opportunity to continue in the shoot off and chance at Olympic Gold,” she wrote.

“After the negativity I felt around catching Covid before Tokyo 2020 and the games becoming such a bad headspace for myself, I have said in many interviews I really didn't want to get sucked into the negativity of what could have been.

“However, after being sat reading through so many of your comments with clear photographic evidence of me hitting the target. I feel like I owe it not just myself but the entire shooting community to highlight and address the matter. Every athlete, especially at the Games deserves to compete on a fair playing field. Whether that be through experienced and exceptional judging, or new technologies such as VAR which we have always had in place previously at ISSF competitions.

“At this point in time, I can't imagine a huge amount will be done, and that is not what I am looking for. However, I do believe some accountability needs to be taken to acknowledge and an apology for the incorrect decision and furthermore a plan to prevent something like this happening in the future.

“There were multiple occasions through the final day where other shooters had a similar experience to myself and I am sure have the same feelings as myself. I hope to use this platform I have right now to try and spark change in our sport. We are at an elite level and these mistakes I believe should not even be a possibility. I hope we can work together, athletes, coaches, officials to create something better.

“This has not taken away anything from my Games, I honestly had no expectations, to be completely honest I didn’t believe I would even make it through the first day with the little prep both physically and mentally. I am beyond proud of my Silver medal!

“I am pleased to say that it has shone a brighter light on the Games for me! Now it’s time to be a mum and a wife again, enjoy life with a splash of silver.”