History has repeated itself. Last month at the Winter Olympics, fans felt the American ice dance pair, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, “got robbed” after finishing 1.43 points behind France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. Speculation that a French judge had given the French pair higher scores began to spread. Now, Team GB’s ice dance pair finds themselves at the center of another scoring controversy.

At the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, Team Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson finished third after rhythm dance and were in line to receive a bronze. But the ISU judging panel deducted two points for an “illegal element,” and penalised them by moving them down to fourth.

The British federation instantly disagreed. “We believe this deduction was applied incorrectly and does not accurately reflect the performance delivered on the ice,” read their statement.  The federation also asked for a “full and independent review of the officiating process.”

But unfortunately, in a statement to Reuters, the International Skating Union (ISU) confirmed that the technical panel deducted points for a lift and that no one can appeal the deduction.

“As a field of play decision, the deduction is final and not subject to appeal,” the statement said.

“A well-established process is in place for the review and analysis of scoring from all competitions, with fairness to the skaters on the ice of paramount importance.”

But what actually went wrong with the lift?

The Great Britain skaters, Fear and Gibson, were closing in on their second consecutive medal at their ninth World Figure Skating Championships, when the judges’ ruling penalized them. The ISU has since revealed, in the same statement, that the deduction was for a lift in their first element.

According to Forbes, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson also confirmed after their skate that the ISU judges’ call was due to the lift, mainly to Gibson’s bent arms during it. 

Another source has cited that the issue allegedly relates to the height of the overhead lift, making it similar to the mistake that cost Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean a gold Winter Olympic Games medal in 1994.

However, while bent arms can and have incurred a Grade of Execution (GOE) deduction in the past, they are not illegal. That’s what baffled the two skaters, and before the ISU’s statement, BIS confirmed their decision to appeal the deduction.

And it led to British Ice Skating deciding to appeal the decision to ensure fairness.

British Ice Skating released a statement following the points deduction

“As an organisation, British Ice Skating stands for fairness, clarity, and transparency in sport. In this instance, we do not believe those principles have been upheld. All athletes deserve to be judged with consistency, integrity, and transparency at the highest level of competition.

“We are formally challenging this decision and will be raising our concerns with the International Skating Union.”

BIS President Pam Aguss echoed that statement, saying their two skaters delivered one of their best performances on the world stage, which was deserving of a medal.

“Lilah and Lewis consistently deliver performances of the highest international standard and are rightfully recognised among the very best in the world. To see that not accurately recognised at this event in, what we see, as a clear error is incredibly difficult, not just for them, but for everyone who believes in this sport.”

It eventually prompted the ISU to respond to the BIS’s statement, effectively settling the situation. That ultimately confirms that Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson will be missing out on what would have been their second consecutive World bronze medal.