Australian judge Benjamin Lowe has been removed from the surfing competition at the ongoing Paris Olympic Games.

This was after an image surfaced on social media of Lowe posing for a photo with Australian surfer Ethan Ewing.

The International Surfing Association (ISA) said in a statement on Thursday that it removed Lowe from the judging panel for the rest of the event.

ISA said the action was taken to protect the integrity and fairness of the ongoing competition.

Australian coach Bede Durbidge, who was also in the photo, had posted the picture in his Instagram story, a feature in which the post automatically disappears after 24 hours.

Lowe was heavily criticised by the Brazilian surfing federation after the Tokyo 2020 Games for underscoring Gabriel Medina in his semi-final heat against Japanese Kanoa Igarashi.

Ewing and Medina could face each other at the Paris Games in a potential semi-final. (dpa/NAN)