diff --git a/.gitea/scripts/review-check.sh b/.gitea/scripts/review-check.sh
index 026a28a5e..a63c983ee 100755
--- a/.gitea/scripts/review-check.sh
+++ b/.gitea/scripts/review-check.sh
@@ -306,12 +306,15 @@ for U in $CANDIDATES; do
       exit 0
       ;;
     403)
-      # Token owner is not in the team being probed; the API refuses to
-      # confirm membership. This is the RFC#324 follow-up token-scope gap.
-      # Fail closed — never grant approval on a 403; surface clearly.
-      echo "::error::team-probe for ${U} in ${TEAM} returned 403 (token owner not in ${TEAM} team — RFC#324 token-scope follow-up). Cannot confirm membership; failing closed."
+      # Token owner is not in the team being probed; Gitea 1.22.6 refuses
+      # to confirm membership in this case. Do NOT hard-fail the gate on a
+      # 403 — doing so would fail the entire gate if ANY candidate triggers
+      # a 403, even when other valid team-members exist. Instead skip this
+      # candidate and continue checking others. If all candidates produce
+      # 403 (token owner can't query any of them) the final exit fires.
+      echo "::warning::team-probe for ${U} in ${TEAM} returned 403 (token owner not in ${TEAM} team — skipping; cannot confirm membership)"
       cat "$TEAM_PROBE_TMP" >&2
-      exit 1
+      continue
       ;;
     404)
       debug "${U} not a member of ${TEAM}"