South Korea’s sports organisation announced Tuesday that it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over “unfair” officiating in short track speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics, after two medal hopefuls were disqualified.

After finishing first and second in their heats, South Koreans Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were disqualified from Monday’s men’s 1,000-meter semifinals for unlawful late passing and lane-changing, respectively.

Two Chinese skaters advanced to the final as a result of the decisions, with the host country taking home gold and silver medals.

The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) said that it would file an appeal with the CAS, the top international sports tribunal, “to formalise the injustice of this decision”.

“We plan to do our best to prevent injustice from happening to our athletes in the international ice skating and sporting communities,” KSOC said in a statement.

The penalties enraged South Koreans, with many claiming the refereeing was biased.

One online user called the officiating “horrible”, adding: “It’s only making decisions that are extremely in favour of China.”

South Korea filed a complaint with the International Skating Union about Hwang’s fate, but it was dismissed because disqualification for rule violations cannot be appealed.

Hungary also lodged a protest after Liu Shaolin Sandor was given a yellow card for two penalties in the 1,000m final, but it was turned down as well.