The International Judo Federation (IJF) has confirmed that Serbian judoka Nemanja Majdov has been disqualified for making a religious gesture at the Paris Olympics.
Earlier, Maidov reported on social media that the IJF had suspended him for five months because he had crossed himself before his lost fight against Greek Theodoros Tselidis in the 1/8 finals of the 2024 Games. Then it became known that the punishment could have followed because Nemanja had spoken obscenely about the work of the fight judges.
— Athlete Nemanja Maidov has been sanctioned following disciplinary proceedings initiated under the IJF Disciplinary Code for incidents recorded during his performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He was accused of displaying an obvious religious symbol at the start of a bout and refusing to bow to his opponent at the end of the bout, which is a violation of the Code of Ethics, and removing his judogi (the clothing worn by athletes), which is a violation of the IJF Sportsmanship and Organisation Rules (SOR).
It should be noted that the athlete has been involved in incidents involving violations of the code of ethics. In April 2018 and February 2022, he was warned in a letter regarding behavior contrary to sports and organizational regulations.
In a warning letter dated February 2022, the respondent was informed that “in the event of any future violation of the SOR or the Code of Ethics, the IJF will initiate disciplinary proceedings.” It should also be noted that the athlete did not contest either warning, so his claims that he was unaware of the rule prohibiting the display of any religious, political, ethnic or other gestures are not correct.
The IJF Code of Ethics is designed to protect the ethical values and moral principles of our sport. The IJF also respects and values all cultures, nationalities, religions and orientations of all its members, including but not limited to athletes, said a statement on the IJF website.
Nemanja Maidov is the 2017 world champion in the under 90 kg category and the 2023 European champion.
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Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
