Algerian judoka sent home from Olympics after refusing to compete against Israeli opponent

An algerian judoka and his coach have been suspended and sent home after refusing to fight an Israeli athlete.  Fethi Nourine was scheduled to compete in the men’s under-73kg division. He said he could not compete against the Israeli, Tohar Butbul, in the second round because of his support for the Palestinian cause. 

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Algerian judoka Nourine said, “We worked a lot to reach the Olympics”.  In addition, he pointed out that the Palestinian cause is much bigger than all of this. Nourine has also pulled out of the 2019 world championships in order to avoid facing an Israeli competitor.

Source: The Guardian