International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) secretary general Maureen Orchard confirmed he had been removed from the tournament in Hamburg after the organisation ruled it was "clear a one-game sanction was not suitable for the action".

The IWBF decision follows the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) claiming the one-game ban was "too lenient" and "inadequate".

The IPC also urged the IWBF to take further action against the coach, a call the worldwide governing body appear to have heeded.

The incident sparked widespread outrage after video footage following China's 80-20 win over Algeria on Saturday (August 18) showed the assistant Chinese coach hitting the player during the half-time team-talk.

The IWBF were criticised for the severity of the suspension but the body has claimed the Tournament Technical Committee "took immediate action within the confines of their authority".

It was then decided by the Committee that the coach's behaviour "required further sanctions beyond their authority" and the incident was passed on to Orchard "as per IWBF regulations".

Orchard claimed she "understood the frustration with the initial sanctions" but insisted they had followed the correct procedure as per their statutes.

"We had to go through the correct procedures to ensure the suspension was done in the correct and formal manner," said Orchard.

"Upon reviewing the incident on video and reading the report it was clear that a one-game sanction was not suitable for the action. 

"The member of the coaching staff is a coach, a person of authority over the athlete and he must be held to a higher standard as a result.

"The athletes are at the heart of our sport and it is our responsibility to protect them and ensure they can play the sport in a safe and enjoyable environment. 

"The actions of this member of staff were not within the ethics of the game and for this reason our decision to suspend him from the tournament was easy.

"We are sure our national organisation for governing wheelchair basketball in China, the National Paralympic Committee of China, shares our views and concerns in this matter and we are in communication with them to ensure their wheelchair basketball programme shares our principles and to ensure that the development of the sport is not affected by this one individual's actions.

"However, we want to send out a clear message that we do not tolerate this behaviour."

The IPC have written to the Chinese Paralympic Committee asking them to provide clarity on if it was an isolated incident or whether they need to "address a more widespread problem within their territory".

China's women shrugged off the controversy surrounding their coach as they beat Canada - whose governing body released a strongly-worded statement criticising his actions - 63-56 to reach the semi-finals.

China were joined in the last four by Britain, who progressed to the semi-finals for the first time following a thumping 70-47 victory over Paralympic champions the United States.

More follows