NEW ORLEANS — Warning that it will not tolerate favoritism, the International Gymnastics Federation expelled four judges from the world championships of rhythmic gymnastics.
The federation said Sunday the judges backed gymnasts from their own nations. The ruling came after the federation's technical committee routinely reviewed tapes from the previous two days of competition.
The federation is taking a more critical assessment of its judges since the scores at the 1999 European Championships led to the dismissal of several judges, said Andrea Schmid-Shapiro, the championships' technical director.
"We hope this will send a message for the future," Schmid-Shapiro said.
The four expelled judges made "big mistakes" during the all-around competition on Friday and Saturday, the federation said.
"They pushed their own country up in order to make a big disadvantage," federation spokesman Philippe Silacci said.
The expulsions came five months after a figure skating scandal involving a French judge shook the Salt Lake Olympics.
One of the expelled judges, Efi Pantazidou, was from Greece, which won an event title Sunday.
The judges were removed before Sunday's event finals, but the top eight finishers among the 20 countries competing in the all-around Friday and Saturday qualified for the event finals. Greece finished third overall.
Larissa Lukianenko of Belarus, Marcie Lourenco of Brazil and Shin-Ja Choi of South Korea also were expelled. Since there were fewer events Sunday, replacement judges were not needed.
The United States, the host for the first time, did not qualify for either event final after placing 13th overall.
The federation also gave yellow cards to Zaizhen Diao of China and Damida Velcheva of Bulgaria. The yellow card is a serious warning, and a second one means expulsion. All of the disciplined judges may appeal.
Greece won the 3 Ropes/2 Balls event with 24.450 points, and Ukraine captured the 5 Ribbons event with 23.325 points.
The Russians, defending world and Olympic champions, won all-around championship Saturday after placing first in the 5 Ribbons and the 3 Ropes/2 Balls group competition.
Greece scored 24.450 in the 3 Ropes/2 Balls, followed by Bulgaria (23.600) and Belarus (23.500). Russia finished seventh among the eight competitors with 21.475.
The Russians bounced back to finish second; Greece was third with 22.650.