Saeid Mollaie, an Iranian judo champion, refused to return to Iran and sought asylum in Germany after he was forced by Iranian officials to lose semi-final match in the 2019 World Judo Championship in Japan.
Mollaie was reportedly forced by his coaches to lose the semi-final against his Belgian opponent on Tuesday to avoid a possible match against Israel’s Sagi Muki in the final.
Dozens of Iranian athletes have been prevented by Islamic Republic regime to match with their Israeli opponents since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Marius Vizer the Head of the International Judo Federation (IJF) told the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun that, “Mollaei feared he and his family would be subjected to violence by the Iranian state if he faced Israeli Judoka Sagi Muki, who went on to win the world championship on Wednesday in Tokyo.”
IJF has reportedly offered Mollaie protection. Vizer also expressed he is hoping that Mollaie will compete in 2020 games as a refugee athlete.
