A group of athletes and human-rights activists are calling on the International Olympic Committee to sanction Iran's Olympic program because of the regime's repeated attempts to have its athletes avoid competing against Israelis.
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In a letter sent to IOC president Thomas Bach this week, the head of the United for Navid campaign – formed last year to protest the controversial execution of 27-year-old Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari – listed more than half a dozen examples in the past 16 years of Iranian judokas intentionally losing or withdrawing from competitions that would match them up with Israeli athletes.
"The fact that Iranian athletes are being forced to throw matches to avoid competing against Israeli athletes is a clear breach of the Olympic charter and Olympic values," former Iranian wrestler Sardar Pashaei wrote to Bach.
An IOC spokesman said the organization "takes note of the letter and continues to evaluate the alleged issues."
Last month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned Iran's suspension from international judo events in a case stemming from former world champion Saeid Mollaei's departure from the Iranian team; Mollaei had claimed he was ordered to lose matches and withdraw from competitions to avoid facing Israelis.
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CAS judges decided the International Judo Federation overstepped its own authority with such a severe ban, which was imposed in October 2019.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
