What happened: Fethi Nourine, an Algerian judoka, parted ways from the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after he realized, he had to face an Israeli opponent “Tohar Butbul”, only if the two involved athletes advanced to the second round. Fethi Nourine was assigned the 73kg category where it was most likely that two faced each other. Amar Benikhlef( Nourine’s coach) and the athlete have been temporarily suspended by IJf, according to their article posted on the 24th. Nourine has also been reported to withdrew from the judo world championship in 2019, as he had to face Tohar( Israeli opponent), which took place at the same venue as this year’s Olympics.
What’s happening now: Judo’s governing body is known for taking strict actions against the “anti-Israel” sentiment expressed by some athletes during their most important tournaments. The Algerian Olympic committee withdrew their credentials and are now sending athletes back home. certainly, further sanctions could be imposed like the one imposed on Iran in 2019 on refusing to compete against an Israeli opponent. Click here for more stories by “ProperGaanda“