Iran wrestler forced to lose to avoid competing against Israel

An Iranian wrestler was forced to lose his match in order to avoid facing an Israeli opponent during the Senior U23 World Championship.

During the competition held last week in Poland, Alireza Karimi-Machiani was reportedly on the verge of beating his Russian opponent, Alikhan Zhabrailov, when his trainer was heard saying “lose Alireza”. The match was then stopped for Alireza to talk privately with his trainer, before the wrestler continued the match and lost 3-14.

On social media, many Iranians reacted with outrage at the news, questioning why politics is spilling over into sports and rebuking Alireza for complying.

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Iran does not formally recognise the state of Israel and therefore forbids its athletes from competing against Israeli opponents at international sporting competitions.

This is not the first time that Middle Eastern political enmity has entered the realm of sports. In last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Lebanese athletes refused to share a bus with the Israeli team, and the Egyptian Judo contestant Islam El Shehaby refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent Or Sasson.

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