In the early 20th century, the father of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, wrote that the competition ought to be “free from political interference”. Yet it’s often hard for champions to escape world affairs. Take the example of Algerian judoka, Fethi Nourine, who withdrew in from the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021 to avoid facing his Israeli counterpart on the grounds of “his support for the Palestinian cause”. Within two months, he and his trainer were handed a 10 year suspension by the International Judo Federation.
Like other suspensions, the Federation had based its decision on the Olympic Charter’s controversial rule 50.2:
“No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
