Amar Benikhlef (born 11 January 1982) is an Algerian

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

who competed in the middleweight division. He won the silver medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing. In September 2021, Benikhlef was suspended for 10 years, until July 2031 for "a clear and very serious breach of the IJF Statutes, the IJF Code of Ethics and the

Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the List of IOC meetings, 136th IOC Session, held by v ...

.".

Biography

After a judoka he coached,

Fethi Nourine Fethi Nourine (; born 14 June 1991) is an Algerian judoka, who has competed in the under 73 kg weight category, and won three African Judo Championships. Nourine has been suspended by the International Judo Federation until July 2031 for avoi ...

, was selected to compete at the

2020 Summer Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in the 73 kg weight class, Nourine and Benikhlef each announced Nourine's withdrawal following the conclusion of the draw of competitors. They said the withdrawal was because they were supporting the Palestinian cause by not competing against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Tohar Butbul Tohar Butbul (; born 24 January 1994) is an Israeli retired Olympic judoka. He competes in the under 73 kg weight category, where he won silver medals at the 2019 Judo World Masters, 2019 World Masters and the 2021 European Judo Championshi ...

, whom Nourine was drawn to potentially face in the second round, had he won in the first round. The IJF announced his and Nourine's immediate suspensions on 24 July 2021, pending a further investigation, and sent the two of them back home to Algeria from Tokyo. The Federation explained: It continued: "Judo sport is based on a strong moral code, including respect and friendship, to foster solidarity and we will not tolerate any discrimination, as it goes against the core values and principles of our sport." The Federation Disciplinary Commission will handle final sanctioning beyond the Olympics. In September 2021, Benikhlef was suspended for 10 years, until July 2031.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * 1982 births Living people Algerian male judoka Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka for Algeria Olympic silver medalists for Algeria Olympic medalists in judo Sportspeople from Algiers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Algeria Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games African Games silver medalists for Algeria African Games silver medalists in judo Mediterranean Games medalists in judo Judoka at the 2007 All-Africa Games 21st-century Algerian sportsmen {{Algeria-Olympic-medalist-stub