Azerbaijan’s Wrestling Federation rejected Italian freestyle wrestler Frank Chamizo’s claims about being offered a $300,000 bribe.

The federation said the European wrestling Olympic qualification tournament was held in Baku for the first time last week.

It noted that Azerbaijani wrestler Turan Bayramov defeated Chamizo in the semi-final at 74 kg, but the latter refused to accept defeat and made false accusations without providing any proof.

An investigation has been launched about the referee management of the match, according to the federation, which added that the Italian wrestler should have informed the protocol regarding the bribe offer before he took part in the match, in line with "duty to report" rules.

"Now he must either prove his claim or state that this claim is baseless," the federation said.

"Please note that the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation is always committed to the principles of "Fair Play". We will take legal steps against this accusation of Chamizo and we will officially appeal to the World Wrestling Federation," the federation said.