THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 7 : Notes : Boxing Fans Protest to New Zealand Embassy

The New Zealand embassy in Seoul was deluged with angry phone calls after a South Korean boxer had lost a split decision in an Olympic bout refereed by a New Zealander Thursday.

“We have received more than 100 protest calls.” said a receptionist at the embassy.

The receptionist said that most callers were enraged at what they called “unfair behavior” by referee Keith Walker.

Some wanted to talk with the New Zealand ambassador, but no calls were connected because of language problems, she said.

The uproar occurred after a bantamweight fight in which Byun Jong-il lost a 4-1 decision to Bulgaria’s Alexander Hristov. Walker was attacked in the ring by South Korean coaches and fans and had a police escort out of the arena.

“The embassy can do nothing. I absolutely understand the Korean emotion, but there certainly are right channels to go through,” said Jerald Davison, first secretary of the embassy.

The receptionist said: “One caller identified himself as a businessman and said he already had sent a Telex canceling import business with New Zealand. Another caller even demanded severing diplomatic relations with New Zealand.”

Add boxing: While NBC-TV gave extensive coverage of the entire incident, replaying the melee several times, there wasn’t a trace of it on Korean television.

While extensive coverage was given to other events, the boxing was given short shrift. The bout was shown, up to point where the referee raised the Bulgarian’s hand.

The English-language newspaper Korea Times, meanwhile, left mention of the melee to the seventh paragraph of its main boxing account, which began by saying Byun had to fight “two men--his opponent . . . and the referee.”

It accused referee Keith Walker of biased judging and of interfering with Byun by disturbing his rhythm.

The unsigned account, headlined “Unfair Judging Spoils Olympic Boxing Bouts,” said, “Korean officials and home fans had the right to be angry with the judge’s unilateral way of managing the fight against Byun.

“However, the Korean officials who charged into the ring after the referee have no excuse to justify their reckless action,” it added.

Noted boxing trainer Angelo Dundee, who is doing radio commentary at the Olympic boxing tournament, had this to say about Walker: “The best referee I’ve seen in the tournament is the New Zealand guy, Walker, but he couldn’t take a shot.”

Trouble, right here in Han River city: Promising medalists now avoid going to the Olympic Village pool hall since several favorites who frequently visited it produced unexpectedly poor results.

Chinese gymnastic superstar Li Ning, who seldom missed a day at the tables after his arrival here, committed one error after another in his competition Sunday.

In the vault competition, spectators surprisingly saw Li hit the floor on his backside. On the pommel horse, Li again disappointed the crowd, failing to swing his feet clear of the bar.

Another pool hall regular, Soviet shooting star Igor Vasinski, nicknamed “the world record machine,” managed only to win the bronze medal.

Chinese weightlifting hero He Zhuoqiang, who was favored to win the gold, finished only third with a lift well below his world mark.

Advice from Uncle Matt: U.S. swimmer Matt Biondi was asked what he and teammate Janet Evans talked about, since they had so much in common.

Biondi, ever thoughtful, took his time answering the question.

“Actually we are different in size, we’re different in gender, we’re different in the people we associate with on the team,” Biondi said.

“A couple of times I sat with her on the bus, but we just talked about friendly things. The only serious conversation I’ve had with Janet is about the media. I told her she’s doing a great job with it.

“She has a lot of responsibility now. If I were her age, and a senior in high school, and had to deal with what she is dealing with, I don’t know if I could do it. I told her she has been very effective and composed and the U.S. needs that kind of representation.”

From the track: U.S. hurdler Andre Phillips must feel like a heavyweight fighter getting ready for a championship bout after his coach, Bob Kersee, gets finished talking about him.

In the men’s 400-meter intermediate hurdles, Phillips will be facing the king of the event, Edwin Moses.

Moses was the 1976 and 1984 Olympic champion and is trying to become the first runner in the Games’ history to win three gold medals in the same event.

“(Phillips) knows he’s going up against the (Muhammad) Ali of the sport, Edwin Moses,” Kersee said. “This is the place where you knock the champion out. You’ve got to concentrate on going 15 rounds, and being able to say after the 15th round, ‘I’m going to be left standing,’ or before the 15th round, you’ve got to knock the champion out.”

The late starting date for the Summer Games caused a problem for Jewish members of the Olympic contingent.

Wednesday, the fourth day of the Games, was Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. Not only did it cause problems for Jewish athletes, including several Israelis who forfeited events rather than compete, but officials, journalists and tourists had to find a place to worship in a city with virtually no Jewish population and no synagogue.

Thanks to the U.S. Army and the Dept. of Defense, however, the task was made easier.

While the Israeli team and other athletes and team officials held a service inside the security net of the Olympic Village, other Jews attended services both Tuesday night and Wednesday in a chapel at the Yangsan U.S. Army Garrison near downtown Seoul.

Maj. Kenneth Zisook of the Army chaplain service led the services for about 300 visitors, acting as both rabbi and cantor. Zisook, a native of Chicago, arrived in Seoul only about a month ago from his last post, Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.

“This was a wonderful experience for all of us,” Zisook said. “Many of us are halfway around the world from home, but we had a community to be part of on Yom Kippur.”

The youngest member of the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team returns today to Seoul, but it hasn’t been quite the dream he imagined.

Rich Schutz, 22, was already in South Korea preparing to compete in the 220-pound class when he learned Monday that his mother, Kathleen, 48, had died after a long battle with Hodgkin’s disease.

Schutz and his father, Fred, a former U.S. weightlifting champion, returned for the funeral Wednesday.

“All I can do is just try and blot everything from my mind,” Rich said.

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Tracy Dodds, Earl Gustkey and Mike Downey.