Missed call..
Moti Dichne
An unusual incident occurred in the match between Ozeki Kirishima and Fujinokawa . Fujinokawa's foot went out during the match, but the bout continued, and Kirishima won with an uwatenage. The winning technique was corrected to a yorikiri more than two minutes later. Chairman Hakkaku said that the result was alright, but criticized the shinpans' decision.
Chief Judge Onoe, who was assigned to the judging department for the first time in the reassignment of duties after Haru bashot and served as chief judge for the second half of the Makuuchi matches for the first time, commented on the moment when Fujinokawa's right foot went out , saying, "Well, yes. It did look that way." When asked if he deliberately let it go, he explained, "I was told that even if I thought it went out, I should let it go without stopping the movement, and only raise my hand after the match was decided." Chief Judge Onoe's judgment was not wrong. However, it was not a close call, and Fujinokawa's foot was clearly out. While it is not good to stop the match carelessly and lead to a misjudgment, he should have at least raised called a monoii for confirmation once the match was decided.
Regarding this incident, Chairman Hakkaku pointed out, "There were quite a few footprints outside. If he stepped out that hard, it should have been called. Usually, when a rikishi steps out, he relaxes, but he was so into it that he probably didn't realize it." At the same time, he added, "But it made the match more exciting, so I guess it's all good." Shikimori Inosuke, the gyoji who oversaw the match, had clearly seen Fujinokawa's foot. "I saw it. The chief shinpan didn't say anything so I thought I might have misread it. I was silently pleading with him with my eyes, 'Didn't he step out?'" he recalled. The one who made the good judgment was Kabutoyama Oyakata who was in charge of the kimarite calls in the video room (and incidentally is Fujinokawa's father..). He confirmed that Fujinokawa's foot had stepped out, called the gyoji in charge of announcements, and corrected the winning technique. If Fujinokawa had won after the match continued, there might have been confusion. [Ichiro Sasaki]