Sport

gatestoneinstitute.org – The letter’s signatories remind the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee of their charter commitments and international obligations pertaining to the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment for Genocide. “At least one million of these victims are incarcerated in scores of concentration camps, some replete with crematoria, where they are being brainwashed, …

RFL/RE – Judo’s governing body has suspended Iran as punishment for refusing to allow its athletes to compete against opponents from Israel.The International Judo Federation (IJF) imposed a four-year ban on April 29 after the Court of Arbitration for Sport said a previous indefinite ban was not allowed.The IJF disciplinary committee said the start of the suspension is backdated to September 18, …

Iranwire – Faezeh Hashemi has spoken out about the Asian Football Confederation’s ban on Iranian football clubs hosting matches, saying the ongoing behaviour of the Islamic Republic is to blame. In an audio file obtained by IranWire, the reformist ex-MP and daughter of former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says the principal reason for the decision is Iran’s “serious …

nypost.com – The 2022 Winter Olympic games are currently slated to be held in Beijing, China, next February. But the voices demanding that they be moved to a more freedom-friendly venue are growing louder.  Last September, a coalition of 160 human rights groups called for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to “reverse its mistake in awarding Beijing the honor of hosting the Winter Olympics.”  …

Iranwire – British soldiers introduced football to Iran in 1908, but it took 62 years before women could get anywhere near the sport. Women’s football began in Iran in 1970. The first sparks were ignited when women first joined men in playing for local and street teams in various cities, serving as goalkeepers and sometimes playing other positions too. It is worth noting that at that time, football …

Iranwire – Following an attack on female Iranian mountaineers, a climbing association has issued a ban on female rock climbers but has done nothing to confront the perpetrator — a Friday prayers imam. On February 24, 2021, a video was released of the Friday Imam of Darcheh in Isfahan province lashing out at both male and female climbers training in Kuhe Sefid and describing their sport as “dirty work”. Soon after, the …

RFL/RE – Iran’s suspension from international judo tournaments for refusing to allow its athletes to compete against Israeli opponents was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on March 1.The case was prompted by former world champion Saeid Mollaei leaving the Iranian team in August 2019.Mollaei walked off the Iranian team in Tokyo in protest, saying he was …

ABC — Iran‘s Alpine ski coach, Samira Zargari, couldn’t join her team for the world championships in Italy last week. The reason? Her husband barred her from leaving the country. The reaction on social media was swift, and many Iranians vented their fury by demanding the government change the law to give women back their right to travel internationally, along with …

Al-Monitor Israel has won a small victory against Iran — at least on the judo mat. While the international community is all riled up arguing over Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s opposition to it, a sporting event introduced a smidgen of optimism to the longstanding quarrel. Exiled Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei arrived in Tel Aviv last week to take part in the international judo community’s Grand …

theguardian.com – Samira Zargari, the coach of the Iranian women’s Alpine skiing team, has been barred by her husband from travelling to Italy for the world skiing championships, according to reports in the Iranian press. The squad left for Cortina d’Ampezzo, where the championships are being held, on Wednesday, but without Zargari, who was replaced by another athlete, Marjan Kalhor. Iran’s pro-reform …