Arash Miresmaeili has been re-elected as President of the Iranian Judo Federation, despite being at the centre of the controversy which led to the organisation being suspended.
The two-time world champion was returned to office after securing 54 out of 55 votes at the election in Tehran, held at Iran’s Olympic Academy.
Iran remains suspended by the International Judo Federation after its athlete Saeid Mollaei was ordered to lose at the 2019 World Championships in Tokyo to avoid facing an opponent from Israel.
The country was originally banned «indefinitely» but this was cut to four years following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
With the suspension backdated, it is due to expire on September 17 this year.
Last year, an audio file emerged which allegedly showed Miresmaeili instructing the coach of Mollaei to lose a bout.
Mollaei refused to return to Iran after the scandal and instead sought asylum in Germany.
The 2018 world champion has now switched allegiances and fights for Mongolia, winning an Olympic silver medal at Tokyo 2020 for them at under-81 kilograms.
Miresmaeili, the world champion at 66kg in 2001 and 2003, was also involved in an Israel-related controversy at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where he had carried his country’s flag at the Opening Ceremony.
He was due to fight Ehud Vaks of Israel in the first round but deliberately showed up more than two kilograms overweight, leading to his disqualification.
This action led to praise from Iran’s leaders who claimed they considered him the «champion» of Athens 2004.
They later paid him the same amount of prize money that was awarded to gold medallists.
Numerous other examples of Iranians refusing to compete against Israelis have since been recorded.
In February, the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran was summoned to Lausanne for a warning from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
IOC President Thomas Bach told the body to ensure a «full observance» of the Olympic Charter after expressing «grave concerns» over the welfare of athletes amid anti-Government protests.
The policy of not allowing athletes to face Israelis was also among the IOC’s concerns.
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Miresmaeili re-elected president of suspended Iranian Judo Federation
Arash Miresmaeili has been re-elected president of the Iranian Judo Federation, despite being at the center of the controversy that led to the organization’s suspension.
The two-time world champion returned to office after winning 54 of the 55 votes in the Tehran elections, held at Iran’s Olympic Academy.
Iran remains suspended by the International Judo Federation after its athlete Saeid Mollaei was ordered to forfeit the 2019 World Championships in Tokyo to avoid facing an opponent from Israel.
The country was originally banned “indefinitely” but this was reduced to four years following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
With the retroactive suspension, it will expire on September 17 of this year.
Last year, an audio file surfaced purporting to show Miresmaeili instructing Mollaei’s trainer to lose a match.
Mollaei refused to return to Iran after the scandal, seeking asylum in Germany instead.
The 2018 world champion has now switched allegiances and is fighting for Mongolia, winning an Olympic silver medal at Tokyo 2020 for them under 81kg.
Miresmaeili, the 66kg world champion in 2001 and 2003, was also involved in controversy involving Israel at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where he carried his country’s flag at the Opening Ceremony.
He was due to fight Israel’s Ehud Vaks in the first round, but he deliberately showed more than two kilograms of overweight, which led to his disqualification.
This move drew praise from Iran’s leaders, who said they considered him the “champion” of Athens 2004.
He was later paid the same amount of prize money as gold medalists were awarded.
Since then, there have been many other examples of Iranians refusing to compete against the Israelis.
In February, the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran was summoned to Lausanne on a warning from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
IOC President Thomas Bach told the body to ensure “full observance” of the Olympic Charter after expressing “serious concerns” about athletes’ welfare amid anti-government protests.
The policy of not allowing athletes to face Israelis was also among the IOC’s concerns.
