Court Hearing Held on Iran Judo Federation’s Suspension

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland held a hearing to examine Iran’s complaint against the International Judo Federation regarding the lifting of suspension. Iranian judokas have been barred from participating in world competitions due to their refusal to face Israeli opponents.

The temporary suspension of the Islamic Republic’s Judo Federation dates back to the 2019 World Championship Games in Tokyo, Japan. On Wednesday, September 26, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne held a session to examine Iran’s case.

The Islamic Republic filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to prevent the temporary suspension of the Judo Federation from turning into a permanent ban on Iranian judokas’ participation in international competitions, which was scheduled to be heard on April 10.

The coronavirus crisis delayed this hearing by approximately five months. The Iranian delegation sent to Lausanne includes Arash Mirasmaili, head of the Judo Federation, a lawyer, a legal assistant, and three witnesses.

According to ISNA news agency, the Iranian witnesses in this case are Mohammad Reza Davarzani, former deputy minister of sports during the World Judo Championship competitions in Japan, Nasrollah Sejadti, representative of the National Olympic Committee, and Majid Zareian, head coach of the national judo team.

Testimony of Three Iranian Judokas Against Iran

The opposing side introduced six witnesses, including Said Mollaei, a former national team judoka, Mohammad Mansouri, a former national team coach, Vahid Sarlock, a former Iranian national champion and current coach of Tajikistan’s national judo team, and three foreign athletes.

The voluntary or forced refusal of Iranian athletes to face Israeli opponents had been problematic before, but serious trouble began during the Tokyo championship games when federation officials forced Mollaei, who held the title of world champion, to lose intentionally against a Belgian judoka in the semi-final to avoid facing an Israeli opponent despite clear superiority.

According to Shargh newspaper, Mollaei also lost to his Georgian opponent in the ranking competition to avoid standing on the podium alongside an Israeli athlete, contrary to unwritten guidelines.

Following these incidents, Mollaei migrated abroad to Germany and requested asylum. While revealing the pressures the federation had placed on him and others to avoid facing Israeli opponents, Mollaei stated that the purpose of his asylum was to increase his chances of winning Olympic medals.

Islamic Republic sports officials deny pressuring Mollaei and other athletes and in a complaint to the International Olympic Committee accused Mario Wezer, president of the International Judo Federation, of conspiracy to suspend Iran’s national team.

The International Judo Federation accuses Iran’s sports officials of violating the Olympic Charter, according to which the involvement of political, racial, and religious motives in sports competitions is prohibited. Iran claims to be committed to this charter.

The Persistent Problem of Facing Israeli Athletes

Nevertheless, with the repeated suspicious losses of Iranian judokas in which avoidance of facing Israeli opponents was evident, the International Federation decided to temporarily suspend Iran’s national judo team.

The International Judo Federation, to justify its action and possibly to establish Iran’s permanent ban, appeared in the Court of Arbitration for Sport with six witnesses.

Another witness is Vahid Sarlock, a former champion of Iran’s national judo team. During the 2005 championship competition in Egypt, although he was considered the favorite to win the gold medal, he was forced to forfeit his match against his opponent from the Republic of Azerbaijan to avoid facing an Israeli athlete. Sarlock became a refugee in Germany six years later.

The third witness for the International Federation is Mohammad Mansouri, a former head coach of Iran’s national judo team, who migrated to Germany some time after Mollaei. After Arash Mirasmaili was introduced as the new head of the Judo Federation, he withdrew from his position and is considered among critics of the involvement of political decision-making in sports.

Mollaei’s revelations and those of several other athletes and the infamous scandal of “you must lose” chants from beside the wrestling mat during the 2017 youth championship competition has confronted Iran’s sports situation internationally with new problems and threats. In that year, Alireza Karimi was forced to lose against a Russian opponent to avoid facing an Israeli wrestler in the next round.

A Fateful Court for Iran’s Judo

Shargh newspaper in a report titled “A Fateful Court for the Judo Federation” wrote: “Chess and wrestling are two federations that are currently threatened with suspension by their respective international federations unless they hold friendly competitions with Israeli athletes. The International Olympic Committee has warned Iran that if it cannot solve the problem of competing against Israeli athletes, the entire country’s sports will be barred from participating in Asian and World Games.”

Under such circumstances, the sudden execution of Navid Afkari, a protesting wrestler from Shiraz, despite widespread international protests, led to increased calls from international sports associations and circles to the International Olympic Committee to ban Iran from participating in world sports competitions.

The International Olympic Committee in a statement released on September 26 in Lausanne rejected the demand to ban the Islamic Republic, arguing that such action would punish Iranian athletes.

Nevertheless, the possibility of continued suspension and complete exclusion of Iran’s Judo Federation from participation in international competitions is not unlikely. The Court of Arbitration for Sport had not issued its ruling on Iran by the evening of September 26.

Source: DW