After failing to shake hands with Or Sasson, an Israeli judoka who beat him on Friday, Egypt’s Islam El Shehaby faces an investigation into his conduct.
TMZ reports the International Olympic Committee has set up a Disciplinary Commission to look into the snub.
Sasson defeated El Shehaby after registering two takedowns during their judo match. He then bowed and went to shake El Shehaby’s hand afterwards, at which point the Egyptian backed away and refused to reciprocate.
It was a “major breach of judo etiquette,” per the Associated Press.
https://twitter.com/stas8t/status/764095077153017856
El Shehaby faced immense pressure from major public figures back in Egypt to forfeit the match to begin with. That he disregarded the pressure and fought anyway was something the International Judo Federation lauded after the fight.
“This is already a big improvement that Arabic countries accept to (fight) Israel,” spokesman Nicolas Messner said in an email, via the AP.
It will be interesting to see what the IOC concludes after it investigates the ordeal.