Middle Eastern politics spilled onto the judo mat Friday at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics when Islam El Shehaby of Egypt refused to shake hands with his winning opponent, Or Sasson of Israel. His refusal to shake hands was, it insisted, a “personal” act.
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Islam El Shehaby would not acknowledge Or Sasson, who clinched the first round win. El Shehaby walks off but is then called back to the floor to give the required bow as the crowd boos.
El Shehaby reportedly didn’t explain himself afterward and it is possible his unsportsmanlike conduct sprung from losing the match.
Sasson, a two-time European silver medalist who turns 26 on August 18, had lost his semifinal fight to France’s Teddy Riner, the event’s outstanding performer, who went on to retain his gold medal.
The International Judo Federation told Reuters that judokas are not obligated to shake hands, only to bow, but it would look into whether any action should be taken.
El Shehaby, an ultraconservative Salafi, had come under pressure before the Games from Islamist-leaning and nationalist voices in Egypt to withdraw from the first-round heavyweight bout against the Israeli. “This is already a big improvement that Arabic countries accept to be opposed to Israel”, he said. In a Twitter post, he said it “goes against the spirit of Rio 2016”, writing in Arabic said that “sports are not the field for politics and extremism”.
“At a time when Israel’s position in the world is deteriorating, and athletes refuse to shake hands with their Israeli opponents, such sporting achievements are the best answer to all our critics around the world and especially in countries that are trying to delegitimize Israel”. “Egypt will cry; Egypt will be sad and you will be seen as a traitor and a normalizer in the eyes of your people”.
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In the interview, El Shehaby claimed that he doesn’t mix politics and sports and for that reason, he chose to compete in the fight and not forfeit as many Egyptians had requested from him.
