IJF takes action, IJF Tour in UAE and Tunis suspended

by Mark Pickering - IJF Christian Fidler

The International Judo Federation is committed to promoting the moral principles and values of Judo, Olympism and sport in general, thus making an active contribution to the promotion of peace and equality between nations, races and genders. At those Grand Prix the national anthem of Israel wasn't allowed to be played.

The IJF Statutes reflect this approach in article 1. 2: “IJF shall not discriminate on the ground of race, religion, gender or political opinion”.

Based on experiences from previous years and in an attempt to take a firm and constructive stance in the fight against discrimination in sport, the International Judo Federation announces that it will suspend two of its events, namely the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam and the Tunis Grand Prix.

Prior to this decision and after carefully analyzing the past situations involving the denial of participation in equal conditions of all IJF member federations – with their national insignia and anthem at the aforementioned events, and after repeated past interventions, the IJF officially requested the two organizers to provide a letter of guarantee signed by the government that all IJF member nations would have the right to participate in their events in equal conditions. The International Judo Federation is aware that the situation and incidents registered are due to a complex and complicated political and historical context, but we strongly believe that politics should not have any interference in sports and that sports should be a reflection of human respect, understanding and mutual cooperation and that sports, as one of the highest expressions of humanity, should have the power to overcome any other conflict of interest.

As no positive answer was received to date, although past the given deadline, the International Judo Federation’s Executive Committee decided to suspend both the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam and the Tunis Grand Prix until governmental guarantee is given to ensure free and equal participation of all nations at the said events.

The IJF regrets the inconvenience caused to any of its members, athletes and coaches, partners and media and we hope to be able to restore the situation at the earliest, and ensure the best possible outcome in the given the circumstances.