MK Yoel Razvozov (Yesh Atid), who heads the Knesset’s Sports Lobby, congratulated Sasson on winning the medal.
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Messner said that even though El Shehaby ultimately bowed, “his attitude will be reviewed after the games to see if any further action should be taken”. The fight that ended with Sasson’s ippon would’ve most likely become a lost memory, but the Egyptian competitor’s refusal to shake Sasson’s hand at the end turned the event into the talk of the world. After El Shahaby left the mat area, he was called back by the referee to bow and was loudly booed by angry supporters of Sasson. In the repechage competition, however, he won a bronze medal. “But I can not say anything”.
“Now I’m thinking only about my medal”, he added.
An IOC official said the organisation’s president, Thomas Bach, ordered the disciplinary commission as soon as he heard about the incident. CAS says the case will continue, with a final decision to be issued before the end of the Games. “We believe that the Olympic movement should be about building bridges, not erecting walls”.
Spokesman Nicolas Messner said judokas were under no obligation to shake hands, but bowing is compulsory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Sasson in a phone call on Saturday night that: “Every boy and girl saw not only a great athlete but a man with values”.
The International Judo Federation (IJF) said the fact that the fight even took place was a major sign of progress.
Earlier this week, Israeli judoka Yarden Gerbi defeated Japan’s Miku Tashiro to win the bronze medal in the women’s 63 kilogram weight class, Israel’s first medal at the Rio Olympics. “This is already a big improvement that Arabic countries accept to be opposed to Israel”, he said.
Some Israeli and Lebanese athletes had an argument last week about sharing a bus to the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics.
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Although he refused to comment after the match, his disrespect was probably in part due to the mounting pressure from Islamic and nationalist groups in Egypt that tried to get him to withdraw from the match completely.
