I don't quite understand some aspects of today's female judo athlete's exposé... Did the head coach or coaches fail to verify that the selection was random??

‌There is something I don't quite understand. There is no way a veteran national team coaching staff wouldn't know the procedures used in every international judo competition.
It is being said that the athlete asked twice if it was [random], and the coaching staff denied it twice.
Does this mean they lied twice, or just gave half-hearted answers..
It doesn't make sense from a common-sense perspective..
What on earth actually happened?