Islamic Republic of Iran Judo Federation has seized the passport of Mohammad Mohammadi-Barimanloo, an Iranian athlete who won the bronze medal at 2018 World Judo Championships in the 73Kg weight category, DW Persian reported on Thursday.
According to the news agency, Mohammadi-Barimanloo was expected to join JC Monchengladbach in German Bundesliga in order to pursue his professional training and participate in foreign competitions.
Since 2019, Iran has been banned from all international judo competitions for refusing to allow its athletes to compete against Israeli opponents.
The ban was imposed by the International Judo Federation (IJF) after the Tokyo 2019 World Judo Championships, when the defending champion Saeid Mollaei was pressured by Islamic Republic authorities to deliberately lose the semi-final fight to avoid a possible match with an Israeli athlete.
The Iran Judo Federation has filed an appeal against IJF's decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The final ruling by CAS is expected to be announced at the end of February.
Mohammadi-Barimanloo will not be able to travel to Germany due to the confiscation of his travel document.
