Earlier this week, a Saudi judoka was thought to have withdrawn from a match that would have eventually pit her against an Israeli opponent and a Lebanese Olympic delegate was reprimanded for blocking Israeli athletes from boarding a bus to the Games’ opening ceremony.
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In a major breach of judo etiquette, El Shehaby refused to shake Sasson’s hand after the match.
El Shehaby told L’Esprit du Judo: “Shaking the hand of your opponent is not an obligation written in the judo rules”. El Shahaby was called back to bow by the referee and gave a nod of his head. The two men glowered at each other and the crowd jeered El Shehaby as the two men left the mats.
On Thursday, Mataz Matar, a TV host in Al-Sharq Islamist-leaning network urged el-Shehaby to withdraw. Muslim athletes have refused to compete with Israeli athletes in the past. “Egypt will be sad and you will be seen as a traitor and a normaliser in the eyes of your people”.
Tensions in the Middle East appear to have spilled over into the Rio Olympics, as an Egyptian athlete refused to shake hands with an Israeli athlete following a judo match Friday, Reuters reports.
In a Facebook post, journalist Galal Nassar said: “As long as you agreed to play an Israeli champion in the Olympics, you should have exchanged the greeting”.
Sasson defeated El Shehaby after registering two takedowns during their judo match.
However, activists who support the Boycott Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement hailed El Shehaby a “hero”.
A senior official from the International Olympic Committee made a statement last night against the Egyptian’s rejection, but also expressed a certain amount of understanding towards his actions.
Egyptian judo player Islam El-Shehaby lost by a decisive ippon throw to Or Sasson of Israel in the first round of men’s over-100kg event on Friday.
Sasson, 25, has won 12 gold, five silver, and 11 bronze medals during his nine-year-old athletic journey.
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Fans in the stadium booed El Shehaby’s refusal, which has been interpreted as both signs of a sore loser and something bigger and more political.
