Islam El Shehaby, a 34 year old Egyptian
judoka has been sent home from the Olympics after he refused to shake the hand
of Israeli opponent Or Sasson following their bout.
El Shehaby, who was sent
home by his own team, lost the fight on Friday and was reprimanded by the IOC
for his actions. When called back by the referee to bow, El Shehaby gave a
quick nod before walking off amid loud boos from the crowd.
El-Shehaby
stated afterwards that "shaking the hand of your opponent is not an
obligation written in the judo rules. It happens between friends and he's not
my friend. I have no problem with Jewish people or any other religion or
different beliefs. But for personal reasons, you can't ask me to shake the hand
of anyone from this State, especially in front of the whole world.
As
a measure against such actions in the future, the IOC’s Disciplinary Committee
has mandated that the Egyptian Olympic Committee properly educate their
athletes on Olympic Values.
This
is not the first time athletes from Arab nations refuse to compete with Israeli
athletes in Olympics or other international competitions. It will be recalled
that in similar fashion at 2004 Athens Olympics, Arash Mirasmaeili, an Iranian
Judoka refused to fight his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Vaks; a move that earned
wide applause back home.
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