Iranian weightlifter banned for life after shaking hands with Israeli competitor
Iranian weightlifter banned for life after shaking hands with Israeli competitor
The Iran Weightlifting Federation has banned Mostafa Rajaei for life after he shook the hand of an Israeli athlete at the sport's World Master Champio...
Seems super harsh, but would like to know your opinions as well.
Official statement here.
Translation:
The statement of the weightlifting federation condemning the unsportsmanlike behavior of the veteran weightlifter Expulsion and lifetime ban for all offenders The Weightlifting Federation strongly condemns the action of the veteran weightlifter of the Iranian team during the World Veteran Championship, which is against the ideals of the holy system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The positions of the weightlifting federation are in line with the positions of the holy system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and this federation, while considering the lifetime exclusion from participating in all sports venues for the guilty athlete (Mustafa Rajaei), also removed the head of the expedition team (Hamid Salehinia) from his position and After further investigations, serious and decisive action will be taken against all the wrongdoers. Undoubtedly, the fight against the usurping Zionist regime and its supporters is one of the main pillars of the strategic policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in this regard, the Weightlifting Federation does not recognize the illegitimate regime of Israel, fully following the ideals of Imam Rahel (RA) and the guidelines of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution. It has been placed as an inviolable principle of the system to promote the fighting and Islamic spirit against the Zionists.
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Good. Athletes should boycott competing against or alongside "Israeli" athletes as it legitimises the occupation government.
For simply shaking his hand? It might have even been a force of habit.
His life has been essentially ruined.
My thought exactly, I have both reflexively and out of obligation shaken hands with people I'd rather see de-handed
I have as well, either consensually such as to keep up appearances/they hold power over me, or somewhat unconsensually such as they initiate it and I’m a bit stuck.
Not to mention just subconsciously going for the movement sometimes.
This ban is ridiculous and bizarre. It’s not like he began to give a speech in support of Israel or draped himself in the flag.
Last case scenario he can leave Iran and register with another federation. There might even be other federations in Iran for weightlifting. He might also get reinstated in a few years down the line.
Having to leave your home country and abandon your friends and family over what it could have been an automatic reaction is still incredibly harsh.
I think that should be a state policy rather than decisions by individuals, Iran could just enforce boycotts of all events attended by "Israelis"
Wouldn't that make all Iran athletes to not compete in all international competitions then ? (Including the Olympics)
they could try boycotting any match against "Israel" rather than the entire event, but I don't think individuals should be punished for shaking hands, he might just have done it without thinking
But in the example of weightlifting, there aren’t really “matches”, everyone just takes their turn and everyone is in the same “match”.
Wouldn’t forfeiting only hurt the athlete?
A boycott would need mass enforcement from multiple countries, like the Los Angelos Olympics. If Iran just drops out, the show will go on and you’ve stiffed the athlete.
But in the example of weightlifting, there aren’t really “matches”, everyone just takes their turn and everyone is in the same “match”.
Not entirely, as an example, Indonesia refused to host the under 21 world cup because Israel participated, going so far as to give up their bid. It's one thing to attend tournaments, its another to play/host the teams or individuals from Israel. And keep in mind this isn't as restrictive as you'd imagine, since Israeli athletes tend to compete in European competitions, and only rarely are good enough to make it to international ones.
They usually just participate as long as they can and when they come up against an Israeli opponent they refuse to compete against them.
It apparently is, but the article doesn't really go into details
It is a state policy, yes.