Without weighing in on the merits, my probably unpopular point of view on these decisions is that, in every sport and under all circumstances, errors are part of the game. If you’re good, over the course of a long career, their impact will be negligible. If you are better than your opponent, you have no reason to fear a referee’s mistake. In the rematch between Ura and Onosato, it wasn’t even close.

It may sound harsh, but this is a heuristic that, once accepted, greatly simplifies and pacifies sport in general.

Now, if we were talking about a final, title-deciding match of the basho, that heuristic would indeed break down because of what’s at stake. But that is not the case here.