“IF THEY WANT America to win at all costs, just give them the gold medal and stop making us compete in meaningless shows.”
Yuma Kagiyama, the top star of the Japanese team in the men’s figure skating event, accused the referee at the team event of the Winter Olympics Milano Cortina 2026 of cheating and intentionally ignoring Ilia Malinin’s technical errors, putting the Japanese team at a serious disadvantage despite excellent competition. He went as far as insulting Ilia Malinin, calling confronting Malinin “an insult to my career” and labeling him a “technical cheat.”
However, the ISU (International Skating Union) and the Japanese Olympic Committee did not let the situation escalate and immediately fined Yuma Kagiyama a heavy fine with an official warning for disrespecting his opponent and publicly criticizing the referee.
This dramatic moment happened right after the Men’s Short Program competition in Team Event on February 7-8, 2026. Yuma Kagiyama gave a near-perfect performance, reaching108.67 points– his best season ever – with excellent quad toe-triple toe combo, quad salchow, triple axel, and GOE high level 4 footwork and spin. He surpassed Ilia Malinin (USA) by more than 10 points, although Malinin is still considered “Quad God” and the current world champion.
Malinin just reached98.00 points, clearly lost in the short program, even though he admitted that he only used “50% of his strength” to preserve his physical strength for the individual content. However, the US team maintained the overall advantage thanks to the other disciplines (women’s, pairs, ice dancing) and ultimately successfully defended the Team Event gold medal – while Japan won the silver medal.
After the team results were announced, Kagiyama could not control his emotions. In the backstage area and in a short interview with Japanese media, he loudly criticized:
“If they want America to win at all costs, just give them the gold medal and stop making us compete in meaningless shows.”
He also accused the referee of “ignoring Malinin’s unclean landing on the quad toe” and “unfairly favoring GOE for the US, especially in the spin and step sequence”. The climax was a direct insult: “Playing against Ilia was a disgrace to my career – he only won thanks to the referee and team advantage, not real technique.”
Word quickly spread on social media, with the hashtags #KagiyamaRant and #MalininCheater trending globally within hours. Japanese fans are divided: one side defends Yuma because “he was unfairly treated in his personal short program”, the other side criticizes him for “being unprofessional and embarrassing the team”. American and international fans were angry, calling this “arrogant” and “unsportsmanlike” behavior from a star who once had high expectations.
The ISU and the Japanese Olympic Committee responded extremely quickly. Just a few hours later, ISU issued an official announcement:
“We have carefully reviewed athlete Yuma Kagiyama’s statements. Public criticism of referees and opponents without basis is a serious violation of the ISU Code of Conduct. Athlete Kagiyama was fined $15,000 and received an official warning. Any similar statements in the future will result in heavier penalties, including a ban.”
The Japanese Olympic Committee also confirmed its support for the penalty and asked Kagiyama to send an official letter of apology to Ilia Malinin and the US team. Kagiyama then posted on Instagram:
“I apologize for my hasty words after the match. I respect Ilia Malinin as an excellent athlete and have no intention of insulting him or the referee. I will learn from this mistake and focus on the next competition.”
Ilia Malinin, in a subsequent interview, responded very politely:
“I don’t think Yuma has bad intentions. The pressure at the Olympics is huge, everyone loses their temper at times. I just focus on competing and respect all opponents. Thank you everyone for supporting the American team.”
This drama did not affect the results of the Team Event: the US team still defended the gold medal, Japan won the silver medal. But it created a big “shock” in the figure skating industry: Yuma Kagiyama – the symbol of Japanese humility and effort – for the first time showed his disappointment and lack of restraint before a team defeat.
Many experts believe that this is a valuable lesson for Kagiyama: in the Olympics, technical talent alone is not enough – composure and respect for opponents are the factors that help an athlete become a true legend.
And Ilia Malinin, thanks to her team victory and stable performance, has confirmed her position as the strongest candidate for the gold medal in the men’s individual event – and will probably be the person with the highest expectations in the upcoming free skate.
The drama “Kagiyama vs Malinin” is not a negative scandal, but a testament to the huge attraction and pressure of figure skating at the 2026 Olympics. And with what has happened, the confrontation between these two stars in the men’s individual event will certainly be even more dramatic.
