Algerian judoka Messaoud Redouane Dris has been disqualified for exceeding the weight limit the day before his Olympic 73 kilogramme bout against Israeli Tohar Butbul, organisers said.
The 22-year-old weighed in at 73.4kg in Paris, resulting in him being removed from the draw by the International Judo Federation.
Organisers said in a statement that Dris had “failed the weigh-in” and therefore his opponent would “win the scheduled contest by walkover”. In the past, several other judokas have pulled out or refused to compete against Israeli opponents.
The Algerian National Olympic Committee declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
“Tohar’s competitor has removed himself from the competition,” the Israeli Olympic Committee said in a statement.
“The Israeli delegation will continue to compete with the Olympic values in mind. We believe this kind of behaviour has no place in the world of sport.” Dris’s compatriot Fethi Nourine was sent home from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago for refusing to fight Butbul.
“We worked a lot to reach the Olympics […] but the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this,” Nourine said at the time.