( CNN ) -- Former Olympic champion Angel Matos of Cuba faces a life ban after kicking a referee flush in the face during his taekwondo bronze medal match in Beijing . Matos reacted in extraordinary fashion to being disqualified by Chelbat . Matos , who took gold in Sydney in 2000 , was winning 3-2 , with just over a minute left in the second round , when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent , Kazakhstan 's Arman Chilmanov . Matos lay down , awaiting medical attention , but was then disqualified by referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden for taking too much injury time . A furious Matos reacted by pushing a judge , then pushed and kicked Chelbat in the face . It left the Swede with blood pouring from his lip while Matos spat on the floor and was then escorted out of the arena . `` We did n't expect anything like what you have witnessed to occur , '' said World Taekwondo Federation secretary general Yang Jin-suk . `` I am at a loss for words , '' he told the Associated Press . Matos ' coach , Leudis Gonzalez , is also in hot water for his angry reaction and claiming the Kazakhs had tried to fix the match . `` This is an insult to the Olympic vision , an insult to the spirit of taekwondo and , in my opinion , an insult to mankind , '' Yang added . Although the arena announcer said Matos and his coach were banned effective immediately , Yang said due process must be followed before officially banning the two . It was not the only controversial moment in the four-day taekwondo competition , which was marred by several protests against judging decisions . Earlier Saturday , China 's double gold medalist Chen Zhong crashed out in the quarterfinals after initially being declared the winner . She was fighting Britain 's Sarah Stevenson , who scored with a clear head kick -- worth two points -- in the final seconds of their bout . That would have put Stevenson ahead and into the semifinals , but the judges ruled Stevenson 's kick was n't solid enough for points , and Chen was declared the winner 1-0 . After Britain protested , the result was changed to put Stevenson in the semifinal . She lost that to jeers from the partisan Chinese crowd , but later won a bronze medal match . It was the first time a match result has been overturned since taekwondo became an official Olympic sport . Copyright 2008 CNN . All rights reserved.This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . Associated Press contributed to this report .
Cuba 's Angel Matos kicks referee in the face during bronze medal match . Matos was furious with Sweden 's Chakir Chelbat after being disqualified . Matos and his coach are facing life bans from taekwondo .