‘Hero of Iranian judo,’ forced to avoid facing Israeli, requests asylum in Germany

“The International Judo Federation has confirmed the news about [the Iranian judoka’s] asylum request and voiced support for Mollaei,” said Radio Farda.

By World Israel News Staff 

Saeid Mollaei, dubbed “the hero of Iranian judo,” has now requested asylum in Germany, according to Radio Farda.

“Mollaei lost a match in obvious indifference [in order] not to face an Israeli judoka in world competitions in Tokyo in August, based on a rule in the Islamic Republic banning competition between Iranian and Israeli athletes,” says the radio station,  which is a U.S. government-funded Persian-language broadcasting outlet.

“The chairman of the Israel Judo Association said Mollaei was coerced into throwing his semifinal battle against Belgium’s Matthias Casse… in order to avoid facing Israel’s Sagi Muki in the final,” reported Times of Israel.

Muki, who competes in the men’s under 81kg weight category, defeated Casse in the final to win the gold medal.

“The International Judo Federation has confirmed the news about [the Iranian judoka’s] asylum request and voiced support for Mollaei,” said Radio Farda.

“Another Iranian judoka Mohammad Abbas Nejad pulled out of the Tbilisi 2018 Grand Prix to avoid facing Israeli athlete Yarin Mnagid in the 66kg weight category,” it added.

It was reported in March that Iranian judo officials had agreed to stop boycotting Israeli athletes.

In an interview with Israeli Army Radio, the head of Israel’s Judo Association, Moshe Ponti, said that the Israeli delegation at the recent championships in Tokyo had been told that Mollaei had intended to continue competing even if it would mean facing an Israeli opponent. He was also said to have requested additional security protection.

However, said Ponti, “from what we understand, within a short time Iranian intelligence officials came both to his home in Iran and to the judo arena and warned him.”

In his semifinal, Muki defeated Egypt’s Mohamed Abdelaal, who refused to shake his Israeli’s opponent’s hand after the match, even though Israel and Egypt have a peace treaty with each other.