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right or wrong ?
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| TRANCEEEE |
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.
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"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.
http://sports.yahoo.com/oly/judo/ne...uters&type=lgns |
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| Yoepus |
right.
If he doesn't want to play against someone then he shouldn't be forced too.
Of course, if he refuses to play against someone he shouldn't be at the olympics. Its ridicilous. If the Iranian team refuses to play against Israeli players it should not participate in the olympics. Just like the USA and Russia refused to participate against one another when the olympics were at each others homelands. |
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| Arbiter |
| Well if the Iranians aren't interested in participating in the spirit of the Olympic games, then they should leave obviously. |
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| Cyrus King |
| quote: | Originally posted by Arbiter
Well if the Iranians aren't interested in participating in the spirit of the Olympic games, then they should leave obviously. |
I think it is a disgrace that this athlete behaved this way.. the olympics is about sport, not politics
This guy was even touted as the gold medalist in this comptetition.. hes consistently won first... yet he behaves like this.
It will get alot worse when Israel bombs Iran |
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| Q5echo |
while i agree that what the spirit of the Olympics should be about is athletic competition, throughout it's history, politics have always played a part.
| quote: | Politics were present at the ancient Olympics in many forms. In 365 B.C., the Arcadians and the Pisatans took over the Altis, and they presided over the 104th Olympiad the next year. When the Eleans finally regained control of Olympia, they declared the 104th Games invalid.
Some valuable political deeds were recorded at Olympia. An inscription on a victory statue honored Pantarces of Elis not only for winning in the Olympic horse-races, but also for making peace between the Achaeans and the Eleans, and negotiating the release of both sides' prisoners of war. |
| quote: | | While the Olympic Games were being celebrated, Alexander had it proclaimed in Olympia that all exiles should return to their cities, except those who had been charged with sacrilege or murder. He selected the oldest of his soldiers who were Macedonians and released them from service; there were ten thousand of these. He learned that many of them were in debt, and in a single day he paid their obligations... Diodorus Siculus, Library |
| quote: | | Olympia was also a place for announcing political alliances. Thucydides describes a 100-year military treaty the Athenians, Argives, Mantineans, and Eleans entered into, which was recorded in public inscriptions on stone pillars at the first three cities, and on a bronze pillar at Olympia. |
| quote: | | The tyrant of Athens, Pisistratus, exiled Cimon, a wealthy aristocrat, blaming him for a military and political disaster. "While in exile [Cimon] happened to take the Olympic prize in the four-horse chariot...At the next Olympic games he won with the same horses, but permitted Pisistratus to be proclaimed victor, and by resigning the victory to him he came back from exile to his own property under truce." Herodotus, Histories |
for some reason, whenever i think of the Olympics i picture Jesse Owens humiliating the "Master Race" at the '36 games in front of God, Hitler and everybody while swaztikas and ss flags filled the stands.
the cold war boycotts, senseless hostage taking and murder.the Olympics, by design, foster politics. we can disagree about the sportsmanship all day long but behind it all is the social struggle that defines nationalism, good and bad. its what makes human achievement that much greater. |
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| Superstar |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yoepus
right.
If he doesn't want to play against someone then he shouldn't be forced too.
Of course, if he refuses to play against someone he shouldn't be at the olympics. Its ridicilous. If the Iranian team refuses to play against Israeli players it should not participate in the olympics. Just like the USA and Russia refused to participate against one another when the olympics were at each others homelands. |
Completely agree with you.
If he's gonna whine about competing against an Israeli, he shouldn't be allowed to compete against anyone. |
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| Q5echo |
it's not a question of him being right or wrong. who's right? who's wrong?
| quote: | | The burning issue was whether any penalty would hit Miresmaeili alone or the entire Iranian team. |
this^ is the issue. if he forfeits his place on the ladder, he loses his stake in contributing to the team effort. is that penalty enough?
or should the team be penalized for a rule violation?
he should lose the 66kg ladder IMO.
another issue is should he get he get rewarded $100,000 upon return to Iran as what usually happens in that country. |
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| torontotrance |
| It's pathetic, he should be banned from the olympics forever. The olympics is about amateur athletes coming together under sport and not using political or racial biases against anyone. It's not of the spirit of the olympics. |
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| Cyrus King |
im begining to think that this was all an excuse to save his pride. He was disqualified for weighing too much....and i think he knew this disqualiification was coming so he had to think of something that would give him respect in the middle east...
Hes getting a nice 100,000 paycheck when he comes back too |
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| torontotrance |
| aka sellout |
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| hardcore trancer |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cyrus King
im begining to think that this was all an excuse to save his pride. He was disqualified for weighing too much |
Sadly the media wont say much about that. :whip: |
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| hardcore trancer |
| quote: | Originally posted by torontotrance
aka sellout |
AKA HERO |
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