Iranian wrestler’s deliberate loss stirs controversy
The story of an Iranian wrestler who was pressured to lose against a Russian opponent to avoid facing an Israeli wrestler has caused controversy in Iran.
Iranian wrestler Alireza Karimi was asked by his coach to lose to his Russian opponent to avoid competing against an Israeli wrestler. In a clip of the match, shared by an Iranian sports website, Karimi’s coach can be heard saying, “Israel won” and “You must lose.”
It seems that the Iranian wrestler was asked by his coach to lose in a match against Russia’s Alikhan Zhabrailov at the Senior U23 World Championships in Poland on Nov. 25 to avoid facing Israel’s Uri Kalashnikov in the next round.
The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t recognize Israel and its athletes, and has always sought a way to avoid competition with Israeli rivals.
After the video went viral, Iranian users on Twitter started the hashtag #Bayad_bebazi (#YouMust_Lose), to express their anger at this occurrence.
