International Olympic Committee (IOC) no relation ISU Judging System
Immediate aftermath
The Canadian press and public were outraged by the result. The American press were also quick to support the Canadian pair. NBC, in particular, continued to report on the story and support the Canadians' cause.Some in the United States and many in Russia, however, felt that Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze had deserved their win, and that it should not be marred by the alleged dishonesty of a single judge.Sikharulidze contrasted these events to the reactions to Salé and Pelletier's win at the 2001 World Championships, held in Canada. The Canadians were awarded gold despite Salé falling on the triple toe loop in the short program and changing her planned double Axel to a single Axel in the long program. Points were deducted for both errors.In response to Canadian and American outcry, International Skating Union (ISU) President Ottavio Cinquanta announced in a press conference a day after the competition that the ISU would conduct an "internal assessment" into the judging decision at its next scheduled council meeting. After many hostile questions from the press, Cinquanta acknowledged that the event referee, Ronald Pfenning, had filed an official complaint about the judging. Later, on February 13, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Director-General François Carrard held a press conference in which he publicly urged the ISU to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.On February 15, Cinquanta and IOC President Jacques Rogge, in a joint press conference, announced that Salé and Pelletier's silver medals would be upgraded to gold. Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were to keep their gold medals as well, since there was no evidence of wrongdoing on their part. Four of the nine judges on the panel felt they deserved it. Both pairs' point totals were thrown out. 
For the first time in history, the awards ceremony was repeated. Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze attended, but the bronze medalists, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China, refused.
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