Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine, who forfeited the Tokyo Olympics so as not to face an Israeli opponent, has been suspended by the International Judo Federation and his accreditation withdrawn, the IJF said.
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Nourine was due to face Sudanese Mohamed Abdalrasool first on Monday in the first round, before fighting Israeli Tohar Butbul in the next round. But he announced Thursday on Algerian television that he had decided to give up the tournament, explaining his decision by his support for "
the Palestinian cause
".
On Saturday, the IJF Executive Board announced that it had temporarily suspended the judoka as well as his trainer Amar Benikhlef.
In response, the Algerian National Olympic Committee withdrew the accreditation of the two men and indicated that they would return to Algeria.
For the International Judo Federation, the decision of the Algerian judoka is "
in total opposition to the philosophy
" of the body.
The IJF has "
a strict policy of non-discrimination and promotes solidarity as a fundamental principle
".
This is not the first time that Nourine has withdrawn from a competition for these reasons.
He had also acted in this way during the Worlds-2019 in Tokyo.
Several Iranian judokas have done the same in the past, their attitude triggering strong protests.
