DOHA (Qatar): Iran was given a four-year ban by the International Judo Federation (IJF) for “repeated and very severe breaches” of the organisation’s statutes after it pressured one of its fighters not to face an Israeli athlete.
The IJF Disciplinary Commission highlighted the severity of the breaches committed by IRIJF as per paragraph 121 of the CAS Panel.
The world governing body imposed the ban on Thursday after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last month lifted a previous indefinite suspension and ordered a disciplinary review.
The IJF Disciplinary Commission pronounced against the Iran Judo Federation a provisional withdrawal of its status as IJF member and all its affiliated components for four (4) years, from 18 September 2019 until 17 September 2023.
The IJF had previously sanctioned Iran in October for putting pressure on fighter Saeid Mollaei to withdraw from the world championships to avoid a potential final round against Israeli contender Sagi Muki.
Mollaei, a 2018 judo world champion, subsequently fled Iran – which does not recognise Israel’s existence – for Germany where he was granted refugee status, and later became a citizen of Mongolia.
