athlete retires for not facing Israeli, suspended for ten years

Tokyo 2020, judo: athlete retires for not facing Israeli, suspended for ten years

Rio 2016 – Judo Test Event – Foto Oteri/Sportface

The International Federation of Judo (Ijf) has arranged a ten-year suspension against the Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine (category -73kg) and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, following the decision made last July 23 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to retire in order not to face an Israeli athlete. Nourine claimed that his political support for the Palestinian cause made it impossible for him to compete with Tohar Butbul.

After a first temporary exclusion from competitions for athletes and coaches, on 24 July the IJF had formed a commission of inquiry which has now concluded its work: “It is clear that the two they used the Olympic Games as a platform for protest and promotion of political and religious propaganda– reads a press release from the same federation –, which is a clear and grave violation of the IJF statutes, the IJF Code of Ethics and the Olympic Charter. Therefore, in this case no other sanction can be imposed than a severe suspension “. The provision is valid until 23 July 2031, and can be challenged at the Sports Arbitration Tribunal.