Rio Olympics: Egyptian Judo Player Sent Home for Snubbing Opponent’s Handshake

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Rio Olympics: Egyptian Judo Player Sent Home for Snubbing Opponent’s Handshake

Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby has been sent home from the 2016 Olympics in Rio after he snubbed the handshake of his Israeli opponent Or Sasson after their match.

According to the BBC, 34-year-old El Shehaby was “strongly reprimanded” by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after his first-round loss on Friday who described his conduct as “against the spirit of friendship embodied in the Olympic values”.

The Egyptian Olympic Committee condemned El Shehaby and sent him home.

He was roundly booed by the crowd and was called back to the stage for his failure to bow to his opponent as it contravenes judo rules.

Sasson later revealed his coaches had warned him El Shehaby might refuse to shake his hand. The Egyptian had come under pressure from some conservative voices in his homeland to withdraw from the bout.