( CNN ) -- Japan 's governing body of sumo wrestling announced it has fired star sumo wrestler ozeki Kotomitsuki in the wake of a gambling scandal that has enveloped the sport , according to news reports . The unprecedented move also was taken against Kotomitsuki 's stable master , Otake . Kotomitsuki becomes the first active `` ozeki , '' the champion rank to which he was promoted in 2007 , to be fired , Kyodo News reported . He was found to have gambled on professional baseball , with money allegedly a source of funding for mobsters . The Japan Sumo Association on Sunday stopped short , however , of expelling them , the most severe sentence which would bar them from receiving retirement allowances , according to Kyodo News . Such a sentence would be decided by a council of high-ranking sumo officials , Kyodo News reported . The Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament , which runs later this month , will go on as planned . The allegations have shaken sumo wrestling , with 63 percent of people responding to a poll saying the summer tournament should be postponed , according to the national Asahi Shimbun newspaper . The scandal also has led to the arrest of a former sumo wrestler and the demotion of a stablemaster-coach of several wrestlers who also allegedly gambled on baseball . The association has sought to repair the damage . The association 's chairman says on the association website that the situation is `` unprecedented and critical . '' He also promises to try to `` regain the fan 's confidence ... as soon as possible . '' Sumo is an ancient sport dating back some 1500 years , according to the Japan Sumo Association 's website .
Kotomitsuki was found to have gambled on professional wrestlers . He becomes the first active ` ` ozeki '' to be fired , Kyodo News reports . A council of high - ranking professional wrestlers to decide on expulsion , Kyodo News reports . Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament to go on as usual this month .