Asashoryu goes on tirade after day 8 loss

Yokozuna Asashoryu was visibly upset after his bout against Toyonoshima where it was ruled that the Yokozuna's heel stepped out before he finished Toyonoshima off via yorikiri. As veteran referee Kimura Shonosuke pointed his gunbai towards Toyonoshima, the Yokozuna called out to the referee, "I was still in." But there was nothing the referee could do at that point as the head judge, Mihogaseki-oyakata, had raised his hand during the bout declaring that Asashoryu's heel had just touched the sand outside of the ring. A mono-ii was not called, and while the NHK broadcast did not show a close up of the sand, there was a slight mark visible near the area where Asashoryu was purported to have stepped out.

Asashoryu walked down the hanamichi and turned back several times in anger not believing the call made against him. After watching the video of the NHK broadcast that never showed a close-up of the area where he stepped out, he shouted, "NHK...so did I step out?!" The Yokozuna then unwrapped the tape from is wrists and threw it against the wall. As he entered the bath area, he saw Ama and asked him in Mongolian, "Did I really step out?". His countryman answered, "I couldn't tell."

The Yokozuna shouted in anger several times while in the bath and was heard cursing in Russian, but he seemed more relaxed as he exited. "I thought I was still in. I just don't get it, but I'll have to watch the video. I don't know what to think at this point. Give me a break already."

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