Egyptian judoka refuses handshake with Israeli after loss

Egyptian judo fighter Islam El Shehaby was loudly booed at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after his first-round loss to Israel’s fifth-ranked Or Sasson.

El Shehaby had refused to shake Sasson’s hand, in a major breach of judo etiquette.

Sasson defeated El Shehaby with two throws for an automatic victory, with about a minute and a half remaining in the bout.

Afterwards, El Shehaby lay flat on his back for a moment before standing to take his place before Sasson, in front of the referee. 

When Sasson extended his hand, El Shehaby backed away, shaking his head.

The referee then called El Shehaby back to the mat and obliged to him bow; El Shehaby gave a quick nod of his head.

Judo players typically bow or shake hands at the beginning and end of a match, as a sign of respect in the Japanese martial art.

The International Judo Federation said that the fact that the fight even took place between those two athletes was already a major sign of progress.

“This is already a big improvement that Arabic countries accept to (fight) Israel,” spokesman Nicolas Messner said in an email. 

“He said there was no obligation to shake hands, but to bow is mandatory.

Messner said that even though El Shehaby ultimately bowed, “his attitude will be reviewed after the games to see if any further action should be taken.”

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