Samuel Guimarães, the white belt competitor at the center of a controversial disqualification scandal at the Sul Americano championship, has come forward with a public apology after admitting he intentionally bit his own arm to fake a foul.
The incident occurred in the final moments of his match against Davi Garros.
Guimarães was down 7-0 with just half a minute left when he bit his forearm and claimed Garros was responsible.
With no video review, the referee immediately disqualified Garros – handing Guimarães the victory.
Later, official footage surfaced showing Guimarães clearly biting himself while stuck under Garros’ dominant control.
The clip quickly spread across social media.
Faced with overwhelming criticism, Guimarães released a video admitting fault and apologizing directly to those affected:
I want to apologize to the referee and to my opponent.
I know I messed up badly and ended up harming someone who shares the same dream as me.
In the moment, I made the wrong choice, and I deeply regret it.
He stressed that his actions were his alone:
I know how wrong I am, and I’m not here playing the victim.
These last few days have been very difficult.I’ve received hundreds of threatening messages – not just to me, but to my family.
Seeing my mother worried and my professors being judged for something I did hurts me deeply.No one from my team or my family is to blame for my mistake.
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