Olympic champion Khalmurzaev will be punished due to a violation of the rules: not on the tatami

The Russian received a temporary suspension from competitions for publishing political views

The winner of the 2016 Olympic Games, Russian judoka Khasan Khalmurzaev, was temporarily suspended from competition for violating the internal rules of the organization. This was reported by the press service of the International Judo Federation (IJF). What’s happened?

The International Judo Federation takes a very strict stance against the expression of political views that may be perceived as offensive to IJF members. One of the latest high-profile episodes involving violation of rules and subsequent punishment occurred at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Then the Algerian judoka Fathi Nourin refused to meet on the tatami with the representative of the Israeli team at the Olympic Games. His coach Ben Yaklif said that they were “unlucky with the draw” and, having received an Israeli representative as opponents, they decided to withdraw from the tournament, “and it was the right one.” The athlete put it more aggressively: “I’m not going to get my hands dirty.”

The International Judo Federation reacted immediately and sharply: the athlete received a temporary disqualification, and an investigation was launched there in Tokyo. “Nurin’s position is completely contrary to the philosophy of the IJF. Our federation adheres to a strict non-discrimination policy. Solidarity is a core principle of judo’s values,” was the official IJF statement.

The President of the International Judo Federation, Marius Vizer, did not remain silent: “Representatives of Algeria used the Olympics with malicious intent – as a platform for protest, as well as religious and political propaganda. This is a serious violation of the IJF statutes and code of ethics and the Olympic Charter.” By the way, the IOC itself did not react to the situation.

After the Olympic Games and the end of the investigation, the International Federation disqualified Nourin for 10 years, as well as the Algerian coach. They will be able to appear at competitions under the auspices of the IJF only in the summer of 2031.

And in 2019, when the pre-Olympic World Championships were held in Tokyo at the same Nippon Budokan arena, a scandal also erupted. The Iranian Judo Federation received a four-year disqualification for forcing its athlete Said Mollaei to withdraw from the tournament in order to avoid a possible meeting with an Israeli representative. Mollai refused to do this, and after the tournament he said that he was afraid to return to his homeland: there were threats both to him personally and to his family.

The disciplinary commission of the international federation opened a case. During the hearings, the Iranian federation tried to pretend that there were no instructions. But the commission concluded that the Iranians violated the IJF Charter, the principles of the Olympic Charter, and the code of ethics of the International Olympic Committee.

And judoka Mollai, by the way, came to the Olympic Games in Tokyo – only he already represented Mongolia. And he remained true to his convictions: “I was always an athlete and never got involved in politics.”

In Rio de Janeiro at the 2016 Olympic Games (where Khasan Khalmurzaev became the champion), there was also a similar demonstration. The heavyweight from Egypt lost in the first round to the Israeli and after the fight refused to bow to his opponent and shake his hand. After which he ended his career altogether.

What happened to Khasan Khalmurzaev? On his social network page, the athlete posted a photo of the Palestinian flag, reposting video footage showing the consequences of shelling by the Israeli army. (Now none of this exists anymore.) And thereby violated the internal rules and regulations of the federation, “which do not allow the publication of any religious or political views.” The Russian Judo Federation suspended the athlete until a further decision is made.

“The IJF continues to fight discrimination and defend human values, we support the values ​​of judo – mutual assistance, prosperity, respect and friendship,” the organization said in a statement.

The athlete, who has just celebrated his 30th birthday, competes in the weight category up to 81 kg. Olympic champion of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, winner of the European Championship, bronze medalist of the World Championship. The decision on the current suspension will be made by FDR within a month and a half.