Austrian ski federation sporting director Mario Stecher has hit out at Slovenian jumper Timi Zajc after he was disqualified in each of the first two Four Hills Tour events and subsequently barred from the remaining two.
Zajc was disqualified for a suit violation after originally finishing second at the opener on Monday in Oberstdorf, and again on Thursday for the same reason before his first jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
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As a result, he was given a red card which keeps him out of Sunday’s event in Innsbruck and the finale on Tuesday in Bischofshofen.
Stecher was quoted by the Austrian Press Agency as telling reporters on Saturday that he did not feel sorry for Zajc.
“It really annoys me immensely. If the inseam length doesn’t fit, then it didn’t fit before either, because the suit is getting wider and longer. For me, that’s absolutely manipulation. That’s not acceptable,” Stecher said.
“This is no longer about a millimetre, but simply a fundamental discussion.”
Former German jumper Martin Schmitt, who is now a Eurosport pundit, had also criticised Zajc.
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“This is a lesson for him. I find it cheeky – and not in a positive sense. I felt a little sorry for him in Oberstdorf. But I have absolutely no sympathy for what happened here,” Schmitt said in Garmisch.
APA said that the Slovenian team has lodged a protest at the ruling body FIS over the change of suit control procedures in Garmisch where three jumpers in all were disqualified.