Algerian judoka dropped from Olympics before facing Israeli, officially for missing weight

PARIS (AP) — Messaoud Dris of Algeria was dropped from the Paris Olympics judo competition Sunday night, officially for missing weight on the day before he was scheduled to take on Tohar Butbul of Israel.

The International Judo Federation issued a brief statement declaring Butbul the winner by walkover.

The bout was scheduled to be the first in the men’s 73-kilogram division Monday, but given its political implications, many suspected it would not happen from the moment Dris and Butbul were matched in the random draw last week.

For the second straight Olympics, an Algerian judoka has dropped out of the Games right before he was to face Butbul. In Tokyo, Algeria’s Fethi Nourine withdrew to avoid even a potential second-round matchup with Butbul.

Nourine explicitly cited his support for Palestine in announcing his decision three years ago. Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, were suspended for 10 years by the International Judo Federation in September 2021, effectively ending Nourine’s judo career.

Algeria does not officially recognize the state of Israel, and the nations have a fraught relationship dating to the Algerian War several decades ago.

Israel’s presence at the Paris Games has been protested at various points since the beginning of Israel’s offensive in Gaza last year, but the IOC and France’s government have firmly backed Israel’s right to participate.

Israel has one of the biggest judo teams at the Paris Games with 12 participants, and four Israeli judokas competed in the first two days of the tournament at Arena Champ-de-Mars.

Although none of their opponents avoided Israel’s first four judokas, Abderrahmane Boushita of Morocco and Nurali Emomali of Tajikistan both refused to shake the hand of Baruch Shmailov following their bouts Sunday. After Shmailov defeated Boushita, he touched his fist to the Israel flag on his gi when Boushita walked away from him.

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Dris didn’t immediately make a statement about his circumstances. Missing weight — he came in at 73.4 kilograms — would be a legitimate excuse to leave the Olympics, although highly trained judokas rarely miss weight.

Butbul’s second potential opponent also withdrew from the Tokyo Games, although Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool wasn’t sanctioned by the IJF after he cited an injury — even though he had showed up to weigh in for his bout.

The IJF has strongly backed Israeli athletes in the past, and while Nourine had little international success in his modest career, Dris is a promising 22-year-old prospect who finished seventh at last year’s world championships before winning his third straight African Championship earlier this year.

Dris would have been favored to beat Butbul, who was seven places below Dris on the IJF’s rankings earlier this year. Butbul is a veteran judoka whose biggest recent tournament win was in last year’s Grand Prix in Linz, Austria.

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