Rodel Obreja of Romania, deputy technical delegate of the Beijing Olympic boxing competition, has been suspended from his post over attempts of manipulating the competition, according to an official communication by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) on Friday.

The communication was issued hours after Obreja accused that the refereeing selection and judging system was manipulated.

However, AIBA said they had obtained information regarding a possible attempt, "both within the organization and within the competition officials", to manipulate the competition two months prior to the start of the Olympic boxing events.

"As additional information regarding possible attempts of manipulation emerged the AIBA Executive Committee Bureau suspended Mr. Obreja on August 22 from the competition," the communication said.

AIBA has been in the process of reform since the election of AIBA president Ching-Kuo Wu in 2006 and the substantial improvement in transparency and honesty has been evident with only four protests in the 249 bouts to date at the Beijing Olympic Games.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2008)