Olympics-Surfing-Australian surfing judge removed after photo with Australian surfer

TEAHUPO'O, Tahiti (Reuters) - An Olympic surfing judge from Australia has been cut from the panel scoring the competition in Tahiti after a photo showing him posing with Australian surfer Ethan Ewing and the team manager circulated on social media.

The sport's governing body, the International Surfing Association, said it was inappropriate for a judge to be interacting with an athlete and their team in such a way.

"To protect the integrity and fairness of the ongoing competition, and in accordance with the ISA Code of Conduct and IOC Code of Ethics, the ISA Executive Committee has decided to remove the judge from the judging panel for the remainder of the competition," the association said.

The ISA did not identify the judge, but Benjamin Lowe is the only judge from Australia at the Olympics surfing competition.

"This decision is not related to this judge’s performance here at the Olympic Games," the ISA said. "The ISA has communicated with all judges and teams to remind them of their responsibilities regarding appropriate behaviour."

(Reporting by Lincoln Feast in Tahiti; Editing by Bill Berkrot)