International Judo Federation bans Iran from future competitions for Israel boycott
The International Judo Federation suspended Iran from competing in any future competitions or events after the Federation concluded that Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei was pressured by authorities in Tehran to withdraw from the 2019 World Championships, to avoid a potential competition against Sagi Muki, an Israeli judoka.
“The commission has a strong reason to believe that the Iran Judo Federation will continue or repeatedly engage in misconduct or commit any other offense against the legitimate interests, principles or objectives of the IJF,” the organization announced in a statement released on Wednesday.
Following Mollaei’s loss in the World Championship semi-finals against a Russian judo in Tokyo last month, he left the Iranian team and was escorted by IJF officials to Germany, where he is currently in hiding.
“For once, I decided to live as a free man for myself, and prove to the world that I am a brave man,” Mollaei told the Associated Press.
In a letter Iran sent to the IJF on March 15, Iran promised it would “fully respect the Olympic Charter and its non-discrimination principle.” Mollaei later confirmed to the IJF that he had been pressured to lose in the semi-finals to avoid possibly facing Maki in the finals, in compliance with Iran’s policy of boycotting competition with Israeli athletes. Iran has 21 days to appeal the IFJ ruling.
The IJF’s decision was also influenced by a previous incident in the 2004 Olympic Games, when the now-president of the Iran Judo Federation, Arash Miresmaeili, was also told by Iranian authorities to withdraw from the competition to avoid potentially facing an Israeli athlete.
Mollaei claimed that he did not follow instructions to throw his preliminary fights, but received more intimidating calls from senior Iranian officials before his semi-final bout, according to the Associated Press. Mollaei said that while nearly all Iranian athletes have received similar orders from authorities when faced with the same situation, he will compete with anyone to “honor the Olympic charter.”
“I didn’t want to worry about whom to compete with and whom not to compete with,” Mollaei said. “I did this for my human soul. For myself. I wanted to practice and compete with freedom, with peace of mind.”
Mollaei’s life in hiding in Germany has not been easy. He says all of his belongings are gifts, and that his family in Iran is “under surveillance.”
“When I want to contact my family, I do it through a friend in Tehran,” Mollaei said. “I can’t talk about many issues. I don’t have much contact with any of my friends.”
Despite being in hiding, Mollaei is currently training for the Olympic games in Tokyo next year in hopes of competing under the International Olympic Committee’s team for refugees. In order to compete, Mollaei would need to be recognized as a refugee by the UN.