Iran’s Suspension from All International Judo Competitions Confirmed
The International Judo Federation announced that the suspension of Iran’s judo federation from participation in all competitions and executive and civil activities under the management of this body has been confirmed. Iran is accused of non-compliance with the regulations and charter of the International Judo Federation.
The IRNA news agency reported on the suspension ruling of Iran’s judo federation by the disciplinary committee of the International Judo Federation: “Following the incidents that occurred during the latest World Judo Championship competitions in 2019 in Tokyo, the disciplinary committee of the International Judo Federation announced that the Iran Judo Federation will not be permitted to participate in competitions under the jurisdiction of this global body until it provides firm assurance that it will comply with the regulations and charter of the International Judo Federation.”
“Varzesh Se” also reported similarly: “After the incidents that occurred for Saeid Mollaei at the world championships in Japan, the Iran Judo Federation was temporarily suspended by vote of the International Federation.”
On September 18 of this year, the International Judo Federation issued a ruling titled “Precautionary Suspension” that suspended the Iran Judo Federation from all competitions and executive and civil activities organized by this global body and its affiliated unions.
This ruling was met with protests from the Iranian federation, and Seyyed Reza Salehi Amiri, president of Iran’s National Olympic Committee, and Arash Mirsmaili, president of the Judo Federation of the Islamic Republic, objected to the ruling.
The reason for Iran’s judo suspension was Saeid Mollaei’s “forced loss” in Japan to avoid facing an Israeli opponent and similar instances of such conduct in the 2004 Olympic Games. The International Judo Federation accused the Islamic Republic of ignoring the Olympic Charter and introducing political issues into sports. The International Judo Federation’s disciplinary commission stated in its statement at that time that it had “strong reasons” to believe that the Iranian federation would commit such violations again in the future.
The International Judo Federation stated that the Iranian federation has 21 days to appeal this ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Saeid Mollaei, the 28-year-old world judo champion, revealed that the president of the National Olympic Committee and the deputy sports minister had called him to lose to his Kazakh opponent in the semi-finals so he would not be forced to compete against an Israeli judoka. After intentionally losing in this competition, Mollaei did not return to Iran.
Some Iranian officials attributed this decision by the International Judo Federation to “the friendly relations of the president of the International Judo Federation with the officials of the Zionist regime.”
Last month, Mohammad Reza Tabesh, head of the sports faction in parliament, told ISNA: “Following consultations that Iranian sports officials had with international sports bodies after the defeat of our country’s judo champion Mr. Saeid Mollaei, it was expected that the arguments of the country’s official sports authorities would be considered and a decision on the suspension of Iran’s judo would not be made at such speed, so as not to cast suspicion of political maneuvering and including the friendly relations of the president of the International Judo Federation with officials of the Zionist regime in a haze of ambiguity.”
