http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/145144|top|08-15-2004::10:28|reuters.html
Top Iranian Judo guy reufses to fight Israeli
Quote:
Olympics Hit by Crisis Over Iran-Israel Contest
By Douglas Hamilton
ATHENS (Reuters) - Iran's world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili refused to compete against an Israeli Sunday, triggering a fresh crisis at the Olympic Games where race, creed or color are not allowed to interfere with sport.
The International Judo Federation (IJF) failed to agree how to deal with the politically explosive issue at an emergency meeting and said it would hold further talks Monday.
The burning issue was whether any penalty would hit Miresmaeili alone or the entire Iranian team.
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What's really screwed up is it sounds like he may have been ordered not to show. Olympic spirit?
Quote:
A statement by the Iranian National Olympic Committee in Tehran suggested the real reason had nothing to do with kilos.
"This is a general policy of our country to refrain from competing against athletes of the Zionist regime and Arash Miresmaeili has observed this policy," it said.
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