A sumo referee was forced to protect the modesty of a wrestler to prevent a wardrobe malfunction.
The incident occurred during a bout between Ura Kazuki and Shonannoumi Momotaro at the Royal Albert Hall, which is hosting the Grand Sumo Tournament.
The alert referee, a gyoji, quickly spotted that Ura’s loincloth was starting to become loose.
He quickly placed his hands on both of the sumo wrestlers, with the pair then remaining still amid the break in the contest.
The referee was then seen attending to Ura’s mawashi belt in an attempt to prevent it from coming undone.
‘The mawashi belt is loose, so the gyoji referee will fix the mawashi,’ a BBC commentator said.
A sumo referee was forced to intervene after one of the wrestlers loincloth came loose
Footage showed the official intervening to tighten the mawashi to prevent it coming off
The official then touched the two wrestlers again to signify that the contest could resume
‘You do not want those mawashi to come off, I’ve seen it before and it’s not a pretty sight.
‘The gyoji will tighten the belt and they will remain at the same exact location, this is called a mawashi matta.’
Having dealt with Ura’s loincloth, the referee conducted a quick check of Shonannoumi’s to prevent a similar incident occurring.
The referee then touched both wrestlers to restart the contest.
Shortly after the restart, Ura was able to flip Shonannoumi and secure victory in the contest.
The bout came on the third day of action at the Royal Albert Hall, which is hosting the five-day Grand Sumo Tournament.
Over 40 of Japan’s top wrestlers are competing at the event, which has seen an authentic ring and roof reminiscent of a Shinto shrine installed at the venue.
It is the second time the event has been held outside Japan, with London also hosting the tournament back in 1991.
