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New vision exposes ugly truth in GOT star's 'cheating' controversy

Pictured here, Game of Thrones star Hafthor Bjornsson and footage from the controversial 2017 World's Strongest Man event.
Game of Thrones star Hafthor Bjornsson claims he was robbed at the 2017 World's Strongest Man competition. Pic: Youtube/Getty

The 2017 World's Strongest Man scandal involving Game of Thrones actor Hafthor Bjornsson has become the stuff of legend.

Bjornsson - better known as 'The Mountain' from the hit HBO series - became embroiled in a cheating controversy after claiming he was robbed during the finals of the competition.

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The Icelandic behemoth levelled sensational accusations against referee Colin Bryce and eventful champion, Eddie Hall, that the pair had conspired to cheat him out of the title.

The controversy stemmed from the Viking lift section of the contest, where Bjornsson was docked a point for illegally bending his arms and legs during his repetitions and not holding the weight above his head for long enough between reps.

The GOT actor at one stage threatened to walk out of the contest, before Hall eventually emerged victorious as the World's Strongest Man.

The scandal caused a bitter rift between Bjornsson and Hall, whose attempt to shake the hand of his TV star rival was famously snubbed.

However, fresh vision has now emerged that seems to vindicate Hall and prove that Bjornsson did indeed break the rules during the competition.

Hall says Bjornsson "should be ashamed" of how he reacted to the 2017 incident and claims the new video footage released on Youtube proves he was at fault.

The stunning new footage is part of a documentary by filmmaker Andrew Quinn, that illustrates why Bjornsson was sanctioned during the viking lift.

Bjornsson can be seen completing 13 reps of the extraordinary weight above his head, however his arms and legs were illegally bent on more than one occasion.

Hafthor Bjornsson and wife Kelsey Henson, pictured here at the 'Game Of Thrones' Season 8 Premiere After Party in 2019.
Hafthor Bjornsson and wife Kelsey Henson at the 'Game Of Thrones' Season 8 Premiere After Party in 2019. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

The Icelandic strongman was also warned more than once by the judges about not holding the weight above his head for long enough.

The filmmaker goes on to state that Bjornsson's ugly reaction to the incident took the gloss off what should have been a memorable victory for Hall.

“Perhaps it was Eddie who was cheated out of the World’s Strongest Man glory he always dreamt of,” Quinn said.

Hall insists it's time for 'The Mountain' to accept the new footage for what it is and admit that he was wrong.

“I have to say this video stopped me in my tracks – how desperate a man can be when things don’t go his way,” he said of Bjornsson’s carry-on behind the scenes,” Hall said.

“This video exposes the raw truth and it shows you what really happened behind the scenes at the 2017 World’s Strongest Man. It’s time for the truth to be told.

“Hafthor Bjornsson and his entourage have been smearing my title and the referee Colin Bryce’s reputation for the last three years. And because he was the mountain from Game of Thrones and he was a huge TV star people listened and people believed him.”

Strongmen vow to settle feud in boxing ring

The two men have vowed to settle their long-running beef in the boxing ring, having exchanged a war of words with one another recently.

Hall claimed Bjornsson's recent deadlift world record attempt wouldn’t be legitimate because it was performed at the Iceland native’s home.

In response, Bjornsson broke the record before immediately challenging his rival to meet him in the ring.

"Eddie, I just knocked out your record, and now I’m ready to knock you out in the ring.”

Eddie ‘The Beast’ Hall up for The Mountain’s challenge

Despite giving up 15 centimetres and nearly 30 kilograms to Bjornsson, Hall vowed to ‘rip his f***ing head off’ in the ring.

While Hall congratulated Bjornsson on his record lift, he made it clear the duo’s long-running feud was motivating him to meet The Mountain in the ring.

“And you know why I’m going to sign those papers… it’s not the money, it’s not the dead lift feud we’ve got going on, nothing to do with that.

“It’s because you called me a cheat at World’s Strongest Man 2017.

“I can’t put that to bed, I can’t forget it. People may forget it, but you’ve never apologised.

“You think you should’ve won that year, regardless of the trophies or not, and you let people know that.”

with agencies