LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The Swedish wrestler stripped of his bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics for protesting during the medal ceremony filed an appeal today with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Ara Abrahamian, who was disqualified from the games after the protest, asked the top court in international sports to downgrade his punishment to a warning. CAS said it would rule within four months.

Abrahamian became incensed when a disputed penalty call decided his semifinal against Italy's Andrea Minguzzi, who went on to win the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 84-kilogram division.

During the medal ceremony, the Armenian-born Abrahamian took the bronze from his neck and angrily, dropped it on the mat as he walked away.

The International Olympic Committee executive board stripped him of his medal after ruling Abrahamian's actions violated the Olympic charter and was disrespectful toward other medalists.

Abrahamian already has received support from CAS in an Aug. 23 ruling after he lodged a complaint claiming that a penalty in the second round of the semifinal wasn't assessed until after the round had ended, that his coach had been denied a request for a video review and that the sport's international governing body had refused to consider a protest.