Posted on 07/23/2021 9:57:30 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
TOKYO -- An Algerian judo athlete will be sent home from the Olympics after he withdrew from the competition to avoid potentially facing an Israeli opponent.
Fethi Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, told Algerian media they were withdrawing to avoid a possible second-round matchup with Israel's Tohar Butbul in the men's 73 kg division on Monday. Nourine was drawn to face Sudan's Mohamed Abdalrasool in the opening round, with the winner facing Butbul, the fifth seed.
The International Judo Federation's executive committee has temporarily suspended Nourine and Benikhlef, who are likely to face sanctions beyond the Olympics, which began Saturday. The Algerian Olympic committee then withdrew both men's accreditation and made plans to send them home.
The IJF said Nourine's position was "in total opposition to the philosophy of the International Judo Federation. The IJF has a strict non-discrimination policy, promoting solidarity as a key principle, reinforced by the values of judo."
Nourine and Benikhlef attribute their stance to their political support for Palestinians.
Nourine also quit the World Judo Championships in 2019 right before he was scheduled to face Butbul, who is a much more accomplished judo athlete than Nourine. Those world championships were held in Tokyo at the Budokan, the site of the Olympic judo tournament.
Judo's world governing body has been firm in its anti-discrimination policies and strong support of Israel's right to compete in recent years.
In April, the IJF suspended Iran for four years because the nation refused to allow its fighters to face Israelis. The IJF said Iran's policies were revealed when former Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei claimed he was ordered to lose in the semifinals of the 2019 world championships in Tokyo to avoid potentially facing Israeli world champion Sagi Muki in the finals.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
Maybe the dude just didn’t want to get his arse kicked, so he bowed out.
“Imagine all the people....living life in peace!”
The Olympics are a dumpster fire.
Nobody in Japan even wants it to go on, but it’s being forced down their throat.
what a stupid prick!
Yeah, no one cares, no one wants it here and nobody talks about. They have a stadium near my place that doing a bunch of stuff for it, it no one gives a damn. I’m happy to see so many people out having fun with family and friends and not caring a whit about these stupid olympics.
Couldn’t even get a real Japanese person to light the Olympic Flame.
You're onto him.
haha thanks for the update. On another note: I heard you ping for any metal/thrash/speed. If true, then hit me up my fellow headbanger.
👍
May Max,
Oh yeah, I’m a metalhead. I also like old rock n roll and everything from Johnny Cash to Dying Fetus, Motörhead, Canned Heat, Suffocation, Slayer, etc., The Beatles, Johnny Horton, Misfits, G.B.H., Sonny Boy Williamson, Warren Zevon, Frank Zappa...you get the picture. I love live music and music production, but I’m not a musician myself. Most of my friends here are musicians and many make a living from music. Our scene here is the best in the world outside of the USA, even better in most cases because Tokyo is thriving with music of all kinds, especially rock n roll since the Americans left in the late 50s and early 60s.
Yeah, no one gives a damn about the olympics. The only time I hear it mentioned is when I check in at Free Republic, and I’m in the middle of the damned thing.
Hit me up for some rock n roll. We may have some friends in common in your neck of the woods.
No-Urine and coach Bennihana are, I hope, not representative of a general anti-Semitism/Anti-Israel mentality in Algeria.
After all Algeria has been through in the past 65 years, one would think that they would want to be friends with everyone except the ISIS-like Islamic jihadists who slaughter their citizens by the thousands.
this year’s Olympics is so woke, the best that can happen is no-one watches.
Just scrap the Olympics and replace them with a Bonus of Sumo Wrestling to use up the air time allotted.
However, the article states the Israeli judoka is more accomplished. The Algerian probably feared that if he lost to an Israeli, as expected, he might get beheaded upon his return to his home country.
Islam being a religion of peace and all. /s
Even most Sumo Wrestlers today are from Mongolia.
“Just scrap the Olympics and replace them...”
I’d rather watch a rousing 3-hour session of Bingo at a Florida retirement center..
send the whole team home...
As has been mentioned by others, the Algerian was just afraid to get his ass beat in front of the entire world. That way, he couldn’t show the “superiority” of Islam over the “infidel Joos”.
What it DID show the world is that this dude is a little punk-ass bitch.
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