Enfusion has excluded Mohammed Jaraya from participating in the Enfusion 100.000 euro tournament this December in Abu Dhabi.
Enfusion CEO Edwin van Os told CombatPoint that “The Destroyer” won’t compete in 16-man tournament as a punishment for his temper tantrum on April 29 on Enfusion Live 49 in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands.
Last week the Federatie Oosterse Gevechtskunsten (FOG), the Dutch federation that oversights Enfusion events in the Netherlands, handed Jaraya a two-year suspension for his actions following his fight with Redouan Laarkoubi.
After Jaraya lost a close contested fight, that needed an extra fourth round, “The Destoyer” was outraged and attacked judge Tim van Duijn.
“The reactions of Jaraya and the Fighting Talents Den Bosch team are inexcusable and can’t be ignored,” van Os stated. “The last couple of years we’ve done a lot to promote Mohammed. He’s an example for a lot of people, but didn’t realise it at that moment. After we talked, he has realised it and apologised to the FOG.”
Jaraya’s suspension is only binding in the FOG’s jurisdiction, but not outside of it. The 21-year-old is currently scheduled to fight Yassin Baitair on September 30 in Antwerp, Belgium in the last round of the -72.5 kg Enfusion League. For now it’s uncertain if the Moroccan will compete on that card.
“(The suspension) will have a big impact on his career, but Jan van Looijen (FOG board Member) made it clear that he is allowed to fight in certain areas. We are now investigating the possibilities, because the FOG has a working relation with Belgium and Morocco. There are alternatives like China, so you will see him outside the Netherlands in certain countries,” van Os stated.
“Our punishment is separate from FOG’s sanction. Of course we weren’t happy with Jaraya’s actions as well, because we’ve suffered some image damage”, says van Os. “The tournament is in Abu Dhabi so we could have worked our way around the FOG, but we still decided to take measures (against Jaraya). We also did it to make a statement to other fighters and to prevent it from happening on future events.”
FOG also handed Fighting Talents trainer Hicham El Gaoui a six-month suspension and Osama El Gaoui a three-month suspension. Reggae Coutinho was also handed two-months, but Enfusion won’t punish the ternary.
“I don’t approve berating the judges and referees. But if we also suspended them, we would keep on handing out suspensions left and right,” van Os stated. “I had a serious talk with them about it, but I don’t mind Hicham El Gaoui competing in the -85 kg Enfusion League.”
The -85 kg Enfusion League starts at Enfusion Live 52 in Zwolle, the Netherlands on September 6. Hicham El Gaoui is scheduled to fight Ibrahim el Boustati in the first round.
“Due to the FOG’s suspension, he can’t compete on that card, which means he can’t compete in the rest of the league. Hicham wants to talk to the FOG to see if his suspension can be turned into a conditional punishment. If the FOG retains the suspension, El Gaoui won’t compete in the league.”
Ben Moh loses FOG appeal, gains point in standings
Van Os also revealed that Nordin Ben Moh lost his FOG appeal. The Moroccan kickboxer launched an appeal after he got knocked out by Tayfun Ozcan in the second round on the same event.
Ben Moh appealed due to an illegal punch behind the ear, which led to the eventual knockout. The FOG acknowledged that there was an illegal technique, but decided there won’t be any consequences.
Enfusion however, did agree with Ben Moh, in contrast to the FOG. “We from Enfusion decided not to acknowledge it as a knockout against Ben Moh. We’ve made a compromise and decided to give Ozcan four points and give Ben Moh one extra point”, van Os stated.
This decision may have implications for the remainder of the -72.5 kg Enfusion League. Ben Moh goes from nine to ten points and now stands only one point behind Ozcan, who’s on top with 11 points.
In the final round of the league Ozcan takes on Redouan Laarkoubi, while Ben Moh fights Jonay Risco from Spain. The winner takes home a grand prize of 200,000 euros.
Van Os also announced that Enfusion won’t handle fighters’ appeals anymore: “Because it’s impossible to consider appeals during the league, we won’t honour protests anymore per direct.
“Enfusion does everything to run things as smooth as possible, with five judges instead of three for example and the assistance of video refs. The decisions they’ll make will be binding.”
