Middle East politics once again affected the Olympic games as a defeated Egyptian Judoka refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent on Friday at the Rio Olympics.
Sasson of Israel defeated El Shehaby of Egypt by throwing him twice. The Egyptian athlete is a an ultraconservative Salafi and had been threatened by local Egyptian media to not participate in the match.
“You will shame Islam,” wrote one angry follower. “If you lose, you will shame an entire nation and yourself. We don’t want to think what will happen if you lost to an Israeli. Victory will give you nothing. How can you cooperate with a murderous nation?”
El Shehaby, who is known for his extreme anti-Israel views, told Egyptian media outlets that he would make his decision closer to the fight. “The situation is very sensitive,” he said. “And I don’t want to discuss it.
The Egyptian made the decision to participate and he did indeed, lose.
After the Israeli Judoka was declared the winner, he stretched out his hand to the Egyptian athlete, who refused it and walked away shaking his head, leading to boos ringing out around the arena.
The referee called back El Shehaby to force him to bow, as is customary in Judo. The Egyptian noded his head and left.
Both athletes initially refused to comment, but El Shehaby eventually explained his refusal, via Reuters:
“Shaking the hand of your opponent is not an obligation written in the judo rules. It happens between friends and he’s not my friend.
“I have no problem with Jewish people or any other religion or different beliefs. But for personal reasons, you can’t ask me to shake the hand of anyone from this State, especially in front of the whole world.”
Or Sasson eventually won the the bronze medal with his only defeat being against eventual gold medalist Teddy Riner of France.
The Associated Press reports, per the International Olympic Committee, that the Egyptian Olympic Committee “strongly condemned” El Shehaby’s actions and has sent him home. The game’s closing ceremonies will take place on Sunday, August 21.
