Hale's defeat against Mughalzai 'spoiled' by referee

Hale follows his cousin Louis Rooney in suffering an early exit from the Commonwealth Games [Getty Images]

Team Northern Ireland's JP Hale was critical of referee Mouhsine Souilmi, who he said "spoiled" his welterweight round of 16 bout against Patris Mughalzai.

Hale suffered a unanimous decision loss against the Englishman at the SEC Centre as he joined his cousin Louis Rooney in exiting the Glasgow Games early.

The Star BC man had two points deducted in the fight with his opponent also being docked a point, but he felt Mughalzai's timewasting went unpunished and disrupted his ability to land meaningful shots in the last two three-minute rounds.

"It's heart-breaking because I've worked very hard the last few months and the Commonwealth Games was a big goal for me. I thought I did very well, I just feel the referee spoiled the fight for me," a visibly emotional Hale told BBC Sport NI.

"He was giving him [ Mughalzai] time, not giving him warnings. He was the one trying to run away, I was the one trying to fight. I'm coming forward and he's hugging and playing dirty, holding onto the ropes, wasting time and the referee doesn't see it.

"I know I could have had more engine in there, my game plan was to attack, he was tiring out and he just kept hugging, talking in the inside and making me more angry. He did his job well, I'm not getting after him, the referee let him do his job and not mine."

The 25-year-old also suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Uganda's Joshua Tukamuhebwa four years ago at the Games in Birmingham and is unsure what the future holds after the devastating nature of the defeat.

"I don't know what's next because this was my last go.

"I took a break away from boxing last year and it took a lot for me to come back and to get stuff like that thrown in your face is disgusting."

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