Int’l Judo Federation Suspends Algerian Judoka for Bowing Out of Bout With Israeli

The price of bad Olympic sportsmanship appears to be 10 years, and the rest of your career. Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine has been banned by the International Judo Federation from competition for the next decade after he withdrew from a match at the Tokyo Olympics rather than face an Israeli opponent. Nourine, 30, withdrew from a scheduled bout in the men’s 73kg competition with Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool; if he had been victorious, Nourine would have had to face Israeli Tohar Butbul, who went on to win the bronze medal as a member of the Israeli team in the first-ever mixed team competition. Nourine’s coach, Amar Benikhlef, also received a 10-year ban. Both of them told local media that the withdrawal was meant to express support for the Palestinians. Abdalrasool also quit the tournament before fighting Butbul, claiming an injury. The suspension appears to signal the end of Nourine’s career as a competitive judoka. He will be 40 when it ends.