A gesture of sportsmanship sparks outrage
An Iranian weightlifter, Mostafa Rajai, has been banned for life from entering any sports facilities in the country and participating in any sports events after he took a photo with an Israeli competitor at the World Masters Championship in Poland. Rajai, who won silver in his category, was seen shaking hands and posing with Maksim Svirsky, who won bronze, on the podium on Saturday. The photo, which was shared on social media, sparked outrage among Iranian authorities and sports officials, who accused Rajai of “crossing the red lines of the Islamic republic”.
Iran does not recognize Israel as a state and forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis in any international tournaments. Iranian athletes have often resorted to various methods, such as withdrawing, forfeiting, or faking injuries, to avoid facing Israeli opponents. The policy has led to several controversies and sanctions in the past, especially in sports such as judo, wrestling, and chess.
Iran’s weightlifting federation apologizes and fires team head
The Iran Weightlifting Federation issued a statement on Sunday, announcing the lifetime ban of Rajai and the dismissal of the head of the delegation for the competition, Hamid Salehinia. The federation also apologized to the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the families of martyrs, and the people of Iran for the “unacceptable” incident. The federation’s head, Sajad Anoushiravani, said that he would ensure that such incidents would never happen again in the weightlifting family.
The statement also blamed Salehinia for failing to supervise Rajai and prevent him from interacting with the Israeli athlete. Salehinia, who is also a former weightlifter and a member of parliament, said that he was not aware of Rajai’s actions until he saw the photo on social media. He claimed that he had warned Rajai not to shake hands with any Israeli athlete before the competition.
Rajai faces backlash and support online
Rajai, who is 40 years old and a former member of the Iranian national team, has not commented publicly on the matter. He has faced backlash from some Iranian media outlets and social media users, who called him a “traitor”, a “disgrace”, and a “Zionist agent”. Some also demanded that he be stripped of his medal and his citizenship.
However, Rajai has also received support from some Iranians and international observers, who praised him for his gesture of sportsmanship and friendship. Some said that he showed courage and dignity by breaking the taboo of interacting with an Israeli athlete. Some also criticized the Iranian authorities for their oppressive and discriminatory policies toward sports and athletes.
Iran faces international pressure and criticism over its sports policy
Iran’s policy of boycotting Israeli athletes has been condemned by many international sports organizations and human rights groups as a violation of the principles of fair play and non-discrimination. Iran has faced several penalties and bans for its policy in recent years.
In 2019, the International Judo Federation (IJF) banned Iran from all international competitions in judo for four years after it pressured one of its judokas, Saeid Mollaei, to lose deliberately to avoid facing an Israeli opponent at the World Judo Championships. Mollaei later defected from Iran and competed under the Mongolian flag. He also visited Israel in 2021 for a judo tournament.
In 2018, the head of Iran’s wrestling federation resigned over the country’s policy of forcing its wrestlers to forfeit matches against Israeli opponents. In 2010, the head of foreign relations for Iran’s soccer federation resigned after his office accidentally included Israel in its New Year’s greeting cards.
Iran’s policy has also led to some Iranian athletes leaving the country or seeking asylum abroad to pursue their careers without restrictions. For example, chess prodigy Alireza Firouzja left Iran in 2019 after he was banned from playing in the world championship over concerns that he would face an Israeli player.
