Loncar was given a standing count by referee Maciej Dziurgot during his bout against Algirdas Baniulis of Lithuania in the 81 kilogram contest of the Championships.

Despite appearing to compose himself, the referee called off the fight after ruling Loncar was not in a fit state to continue.

Enraged by the decision, the Croatian returned to his corner to have his gloves removed before launching an assault on Dziurgot.

An initial punch knocked the referee to the canvas before a flurry of blows left him struggling to defend himself.

Baniulis fled the ring.

Officials were then left to drag the out-of-control Loncar out of the ring by his ankles while medical staff tended to the injured referee.

Following the incident, Loncar was taken into custody and banned for life by the Croatian Boxing Federation, whose chief secretary called the attack a disgrace to Zagreb and Croatia.

"This is the worst thing that could happen to us," said Croatian Boxing Federation's Marko Marovic.

"This is a disgrace to Zagreb and Croatia and cause the sport of boxing major damage.

"All the hard work that we put into organising this Championship and raising the image of Croatian boxing has been destroyed in a few seconds."



The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has since provisionally suspended the boxer for life from all involvement in boxing, along with his coaches who were ringside at the contest.

"The boxer and coaches are barred from participating in all levels of AIBA Competitions and meetings, and the coaches' certifications were also revoked until a decision is made by the AIBA Disciplinary Commission for their failure to adhere to the AIBA Disciplinary Code and Code of Ethics," a statement from the AIBA read.

AIBA President C K Wu has condoned the incident, declaring that the "entire boxing family have zero tolerance for this sort of behaviour."

He added: "As a President of AIBA, I truly feel sorry for Mr Dziurgot and his family concerning the incident.

"I would like to send you my strongest commitments to apply all possible measurements to punish and remove all individuals who brought AIBA and our sport down, as well as to prevent this type of incident from taking place in our competitions ever again."

The referee is recovering in hospital from what have been described as "serious" but not long-term injuries.

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