Mariah Bell accused of slashing her South Korean teen rival

A new controversy sounds at the ice skating world, precisely at the World Skating Championship in Saitama, Japan. Where U.S. figure skater Mariah Bell was accused of slashing Korean rival Lim Eun Soo in the leg during warm-ups.

The alleged incident happened on Wednesday, March 20 when Lim that is 16-years old suffered a leg cut after Mariah Bell came up from behind and kicked her in her calf.

According to Lim's team, the American skater did it on purpose, "it seems it was intentional, considering how Bell came from behind." And the issue looks far complicated as both skaters train together in Los Angeles under Rafael Arutyunyan and the South Korean skater team claimed that Bell has been bullying and insulting Lim for the last months.

Despite the accident, Lim was able to compete and was spotted wearing a bandage on her calf and finished fifth on the short program with 72.91 points while Bell ended sixth with 71.26 points.

The International Skating Union released a statement on Thursday saying that there is no evidence that Bell intended to harm Lim.

"Based on the evidence at hand at this point in time, which includes a video, there is no evidence that Ms. Bell intended any harm to Ms. Lim. The ISU met with delegates from both USA and Korea and urged both parties to find an amicable solution. The ISU maintains that this remains the appropriate approach."

Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan

The incident between Lim Eun Soo and Mariah Bell has caused that people compared it through social media to the controversy between U.S. skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.

Tonya Harding was banned for life on June 30, 1994, from the U.S. Figure Skating Association.