Taekwondo’s world governing body is changing its regulations to ban competing nations from boycotting Israel.
The move by World Taekwondo came in response to a Jordanian martial artist refusing to compete against an Israeli fighter earlier in the year, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
The organization has charged its technical committee with “updating” rules to ban withdrawals for non-legitimate reasons after UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) submitted a complaint regarding teenage Jordanian Maysir Al-Dahamsheh who would not fight 14-year old Israeli Lipaz Hajama at the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.
At the time, Al-Dahamsheh’s refusal to compete against Hajama was widely applauded by Arab media as part of a boycott of Israeli athletes.
Several other Jordanian athletes have also refused to face their Israeli counterparts in the last two years.
UKLFI director Sam Green told the news outlet that other sports bodies should follow the decision of World Taekwondo.
“The sporting world needs to recognize it is faced with a concerted campaign to delegitimize any sporting contact with Israel,” Green said. “Only by being vigilant to it and uniting to face the undermining of sporting rules and ideals can it be seen off.”
“Refusing to compete against a fully-qualified competitor who has earned their place in competition represents an absolute absence of sportsmanship and integrity. Refusing to compete against a particular opponent is a form of bullying representing psychological harassment,” he added.
“Furthermore, World Taekwondo is bound to ensure that no form of discrimination is allowed. Prohibited discriminations include race, creed, ethnic origin, religion, national, political birth or other statuses. Not taking action in this clear case of discrimination would be a breach of that clear commitment.”