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Non Gaming Discussions => Off-Topic => Topic started by: GigaShadow on August 15, 2004, 09:48:08 AM
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ATHENS (Reuters) – Iran\'s world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili refused to compete against an Israeli Sunday, triggering a fresh crisis at the Olympic Games where race, creed or color are not allowed to interfere with sport.
The International Judo Federation (IJF) failed to agree how to deal with the politically explosive issue at an emergency meeting and said it would hold further talks Monday.
The burning issue was whether any penalty would hit Miresmaeili alone or the entire Iranian team.
"There has been no decision and we are considering this situation very carefully," said IJF spokesman Michel Brousse.
"This has not been brought to us as an issue and until it is, we would not have any comment," said a spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee, which pledges to uphold the ideal of sport transcending national barriers.
The official reason for Miresmaeili\'s non-appearance was failure to make the weight but judo chiefs were questioning how such a seasoned athlete, who carried Iran\'s flag at Friday\'s opening ceremony, would have made such a basic error.
REAL REASON
A statement by the Iranian National Olympic Committee in Tehran suggested the real reason had nothing to do with kilos.
"This is a general policy of our country to refrain from competing against athletes of the Zionist regime and Arash Miresmaeili has observed this policy," it said.
Iran has refused to recognize Israel\'s right to exist since Islamic fundamentalists toppled the Shah in 1979.
Right after the draw was made last Thursday there were reports that Miresmaeili, 66 kg world champion in 2001 and 2003, might pull out because his opponent was an Israeli, Ehud Vaks.
The Games were rocked last Thursday when Greece\'s top two athletes, Olympic 200 meters champion Costas Kenteris and 100 meters silver medallist Katerina Thanou, missed a dope test.
They were dropped from the host nation\'s team Saturday pending an IOC disciplinary hearing Monday.
Some of you wonder why there is no peace in the Middle East? Israel is the problem???? Hardly. It is the overall Muslim attitude towards Israel and the Jews. I personally hope the whole Iranian team is kicked out of the Olympics.
http://sports.yahoo.com/oly/judo/news?slug=reu-iranjudoscandal&prov=reuters&type=lgns
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I cant figure out these people, they hate people because they dont see them as good people. What is this?
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These people really need to grow up. Will the Israeli give him cooties?
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They actually hate them because it is the general opinion in the area that the zionist idea is bullshit and unfair.
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I heard it on the radio.
Silly, maybe he\'s afraid he\'ll lose? It would be kind of sucky for him to lose to a Jew.
We can only hope the people growing up today in Israel, Palestine etc. are smarter than their forefathers. But, kids in some Arab countries are still taught to hate jews, I would not be shocked if the same thing goes on in some Israeli families as well. The circle needs to be broken somehow.
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The olympics are an event where race, nationality or ethnicity doesn\'t matter. It is an event where athletes come from all over the world to compete and have fun. Politics should not be involved in the Olympics and if you should face someone because they are of different nationality you don\'t agree with.
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Originally posted by Titan
It is an event where athletes come from all over the world to compete and HAVE FUN.
I couldnt help myself but snicker at that line.
Its funny that this was judo. I didnt even think judo was a part of the olympics.
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guess he\'s afraid he\'ll lose
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the jew is probably buying him off. Paying him to raise a stink so they don\'t have to fight
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Hmmm, I would think the goal would be to compete to kick his ass and show the world how much better they are than the Israelis.
I guess that would be too logical.
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Originally posted by Ace
Hmmm, I would think the goal would be to compete to kick his ass and show the world how much better they are than the Israelis.
I guess that would be too logical.
too funny..:laughing:
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If he lost, he\'d probably be shot when he returned.
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Dammit, why couldnt he just face him? It would have been hilarious.
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And, in other news, Iran has NO medals...
LOOOOOOOSEEEERRRSSSS!!!
Take your "pride" and shove it up your ass...
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Israel sucks anyway! Those penny pinchers!
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Speaking of that area of the world - how about that Iraqi soccer team? Bunch of ingrates. If it wasn\'t for us and Britain kicking out Saddam they wouldn\'t even be there. Personally, I was cheering for the Aussies on Saturday.
"Midfielder Ahmed Manajid told SI\'s Grant Wahl that if he weren\'t playing soccer, he\'d be back in his home of Fallujah fighting the coalition. "I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that mean they are terrorists?" he said. "Everyone [in Fallujah] has been labeled a terrorist. These are all lies. Fallujah people are some of the best people in Iraq."
Obviously a former Baath party member...
I hope this guy goes back home and picks up a gun and promptly gets his head blown off by Marine.
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Originally posted by GigaShadow
Speaking of that area of the world - how about that Iraqi soccer team? Bunch of ingrates. If it wasn\'t for us and Britain kicking out Saddam they wouldn\'t even be there.
IIRC, before the athlete where handled by Udey or was it the other son? Anyway if they did not perform good enough, they would get burned by cigarettes etc.. Nice. They did compete during Saddams era though.
Iraq have only taken one medal in a summer Olympic game.. ever, a bronze medal.
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Yeah, but with sanctions I don\'t think Iraq would have been allowed to compete. They were kicked out of the some sports federation because of Uday (sp?) torturing athletes.
Back to the point, they wouldn\'t even be competing if it wasn\'t for the coalition. You would think they would be a little more grateful. I don\'t care about them complaining about Bush using the flags and the Olympics in campaign ads, but that statement from Sports Illustrated where one guy said he would be back fighting the coalition pissed me off.
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UPDATE
Now this loser is getting paid by Iran for refusing to fight. I wish the IOC would ban Iran from the next Olympics.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran have given judo world champion Arash Miresmaeili a $125,000 (70,000 pounds) reward, saying he sacrificed a gold medal at the Athens Olympics by refusing to fight an Israeli, a sports official says.
State television showed Miresmaeili at an award ceremony receiving the same sum as Iranian Hossein Rezazadeh, who took the super-heavyweight weightlifting gold at the second Olympics in succession.
"He would definitely have won a gold medal if he had taken part," the sports official, who declined to be named, said on Tuesday.
"By refusing to fight, Miresmaeili followed the policies of the country," the official added.
Iran has refused to recognise the Jewish state\'s right to exist since its 1979 Islamic revolution.
The International Judo Federation had considered a sanction against Miresmaeili during the Games but concluded that he had been overweight for the fight and could not have taken part.
The International Olympic Committee (news - web sites) also did not take any action.
Miresmaeili was drawn against Israel\'s Ehud Vaks in the first round of the men\'s under 66 kg category in Athens. After officials said initially he would not fight against an Israeli, Miresmaeili was eventually scratched because he was overweight.
Was this guy even a favorite to win?
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Probably not which would be why he did not face the Israeli :)