Iran suspended from world judo over Israel boycott policy
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Saeid Mollaei (R) of Iran battles with Khasan Khalmurzaev of Russia during the men's under 81kg event at World Judo Championships in Tokyo, Japan, August 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

Saeid Mollaei (R) of Iran battles with Khasan Khalmurzaev of Russia during the men's under 81kg event at World Judo Championships in Tokyo, Japan, August 28, 2019. /VCG Photo

Iran has been suspended from international judo competitions because it boycotts bouts with Israeli athletes.

Less than a month after world champion Saeid Mollaei walked off the Iranian team in protest of the boycott policy, the International Judo Federation (IJF) said Wednesday that Iran is suspended ahead of a full hearing.

Iran's judo federation is accused of discriminating against Israeli athletes and breaking rules over manipulating competition results.

"The IJF Executive Committee considered that such a conduct is intolerable," the federation said.

Mollaei said he was repeatedly ordered by Iranian officials to lose matches or withdraw from competitions, including last month's world championships, so as not to face Israelis. He is currently hiding in Germany.

The president of Iran's judo federation, Arash Miresmaeili, condemned the IJF for suspending it and called it "hasty and unfair", Mehr news agency reported Wednesday.

Miresmaeli said the IJF sent an e-mail on September 13 and asked Iran to send a report to defend itself, "Unfortunately, once we saw the World Federation's e-mail today, it is completely apart from the routine...".

Iran does not recognize Israel as a country, and Iranian sports teams have for several decades had a policy of not competing against Israelis.

IJF spokesman Vlad Marinescu said any ban won't apply to next year's Tokyo Olympics. That's because it's the Iranian Olympic Committee that formally enters the Olympic team, instead of the Iranian judo federation.

Source(s): AP