Middle Eastern politics spilled onto the judo mat Friday at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics when an Egyptian competitor refused to shake hands with the Israeli who beat him.
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Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby caused controversy after his first-round Olympics loss to Israel’s fifth-ranked Or Sasson on Friday, when he refused to shake his hand, in a major breach of judo etiquette.
After Or Sasson of Israel defeated Islam El Shehaby of Egypt, Sasson offered his hand, as is customary in judo.
El Shehaby, 32, had been reportedly pressured by fans on social media not to show up for his scheduled fight with Sasson, but he decided not to withdraw from the match.
Egypt is the first country in the Arab world to sign a peace treaty with Israel following decades of war.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said he did not want to comment before having established the facts of the incident. Once he lost the match, he ignored Israeli Or Sasson’s attempt to shake hands. “But each time, they are rejected”, TIP said. “To his credit, Sasson just moved on”.
He lay prostate on the mat following his defeat by ippon before standing-up to face Sasson in order for the referee to formally declare the fight over.
It’s unclear what El Shehaby’s exact motivation was by choosing to ignore his opponent, but his actions go against everything the Olympics stands for.
When the Israeli athlete extends a hand for a shake, however, El Shehaby simply backs away, shaking his head until Sasson finally gives up with a dismissive gesture toward the Egyptian Olympian.
On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee reprimanded members of the Lebanese delegation for refusing to allow Israeli team members to board an official bus to the Games opening ceremony on Friday.
“The bus driver opened the door, but the head of the Lebanese delegation blocked the entrance”, revealed Israeli sailing team trainer Udi Gal.
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Khaled Abdel Aziz, said that Egypt is committed to the Olympic Charter and its fundamental prinicples.
The judoka’s brother told Israel’s Channel 10 that Sasson was focussed professionally and tactically on the competition.
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“We had an incident here”, a BBC commentator said.
