IJF Gives Iran 4 Year Ban Over Saeid Mollaei Case

Iran has been hit with a four year ban from competition the International Judo Federation. The news comes out today after incidents in the 2019 Judo World Championships. Saeid Mollaei was instructed by the Iranian government to intentionally lose a match to avoid an Israeli athlete. The sanction starts retroactively from September 18, 2019 to September 17, 2023, banning Iran from all IJF events.

The incident happened when the aforementioned Saeid Mollaei was asked to lose his semi final match in the 2019 Judo World Championships. Should he had won, he would have faced the World Champion from Israel, Sagi Muki. Mollaei went on to expose Iran’s sporting authorities and, fearing for his life, requested asylum in Germany, which he received.

The four year ban will not affect Iran in the upcoming Olympic Games. But with fans calling out for action against Iran’s crimes, specifically around Olympic sports, pressure on the IOC is mounting for action against the government for its dangerous rhetoric.

Saeid Mollaei and Iran’s Human Rights Issues

Mollaei went on to compete a month after getting asylum at the Osaka Grand Slam. He and Muki went on to publicly support each other. The event has even had Mollaei go on to train with Israel ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Mollaei went on to gain citizenship in Mongolia.

The fact that Saeid Mollaei was fearful for his life only highlights the human rights issues in Iran. The country has tortured and executed athletes to the point of prisoners sewing their lips shut in a hunger strike.

Pressure on the IOC has rapidly increased after the murder of Iranian wrestler, Navid Afkari. Since then sever other athletes have been wrongly imprisoned and killed for whatever reason the Irani government deems necessary.

While Saeid Mollaei was lucky enough to escape persecution, others like Jamali Majid Fashi and Ali Mutairi weren’t so fortunate.

In an effort to continue documenting Iran’s ongoing human rights crimes, My MMA News will go deeper into Mollaei’s story at a later date. Follow the links below to stay up to date on all of the past crimes committed by the Irani government.