Israel soccer player will serve a 2-game ban at the Paris Olympics after losing urgent court appeal

PARIS (AP) — Israel defender Roy Revivo lost his appeal of a two-game FIFA ban at the Paris Olympics in a ruling made hours before the team’s opener against Mali.

After an urgent hearing earlier Wednesday at the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s Olympic base in Paris, the panel of three judges decided to dismiss the application.

Israel was playing Mali in a 9 p.m. kickoff at the Parc des Princes stadium that is home to Paris Saint-Germain.

Revivo is serving a two-game ban at the Olympic tournament organized by FIFA, though he was sent off in a European Championship qualifying playoff game run by UEFA.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv defender was ousted for a rough tackle against Iceland in March. Israel lost 4-1 and was eliminated.

Israel has not played a competitive game in the past four months, and FIFA ruled Monday that Revivo must miss two games at the Paris Olympics.

Revivo also will miss a game against Paraguay in Paris on Saturday. He may return when Israel plays Japan in Nantes on Tuesday.