Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Iran Banned from World Judo Competition


Wed 18 Sep 2019 | 07:24 PM
shawar ibrahim

Iran is now officially banned by the International Judo Federation after it ordered Saeid Mollaei to withdraw from the World Championships in Japan. Worth to note, Iranian athletes are prohibited by the state from competing in any sport against Israel.

Defending champion Mollaei ignored calls to withdraw from his match against Russia's Khasan Khalmurzaev to avoid the prospect of facing Israel's Sagi Muki later in the tournament.

Mollaei, who refused to withdraw from the tournament, lost in the semi-finals and has since been living in Germany.

It's not the first time Iran has breached IJF statutes. During the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the now president of the Iran Judo Federation, Arash Mireshmaeli, was instructed to withdraw from competing to avoid a potential contest against an Israeli athlete.

Earlier in 2019, the National Olympic Committee of Iran had said it would comply with the Olympic charter and the International Judo Federation (IJF), allowing Iranian athletes to compete against Israelis.

But the IJF said Iran's actions at the World Championships in Japan were clear violations to these assurances.

The case was referred to the IJF Disciplinary Commission, who said there was a "strong reason to believe that the Iran Judo Federation will continue or repeatedly engage in misconduct or commit any other offence against the legitimate interests, principles or objectives of the IJF".

Iran can appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of the issuance of the decision.

After the tournament Mollaei said he feared for his family's safety.

Speaking to the BBC Persian Service earlier this week, he said: "In Tokyo I left the arena with tears in my eyes.

"I will never forget what happened there. I could have achieved my third world championship medal and my second gold medal. I was so ready and prepared for this."