Fethi Nourine (; born 14 June 1991) 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 has competed in the under 73 kg weight category, and won three

African Judo Championships African Judo Championships is a continental judo championship organized by the African Judo Union. The Judo at the 1965 All-Africa Games, 1965, Judo at the 1987 All-Africa Games, 1987, Judo at the 1991 All-Africa Games, 1991, Judo at the 1995 Al ...

. Nourine has been suspended by the

International Judo Federation The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951. Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, accordi ...

until July 2031 for avoiding the prospect of possibly facing an Israeli judoka in the

2020 Summer Olympics 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 ...

Career

Raised in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, he started judo aged seven after being introduced to the discipline by his brother. In 2014, he won the under 66 kg event at the African Open, beating fellow Algerian Houd Zourdani in the final. It was Algeria's first gold medal of the tournament. He became African champion in the under 73 kg event after winning the event at the 2018 African Judo Championships. He retained his title the following year in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. That same year he participated in the World Championships in Japan. He won his first match but then pulled out of the tournament as he refused to face his next scheduled opponent, the

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 ...

i competitor

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 ...

for what he said were political reasons. In 2021, Nourine won the under 73 kg event at the

. Selected to compete at the delayed

in the -73 kg weight class, Nourine and his coach Amar Benikhlef announced his withdrawal following the conclusion of the draw of competitors. Nourine was quoted as saying his political support for the

Palestinian cause Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Palestinian National Charter of 19 ...

made it impossible for him to compete against an Israeli like Tohar Butbul, the # 5 seed in the tournament, who he was drawn to potentially face in the second round, had he won in the first round. The

announced his and his coach's immediate suspensions on 24 July 2021, pending a further investigation, and sent Nourine and his coach back home to Algeria from Tokyo. In September 2021, Nourine and Benikhlef were both suspended for ten years, until July 2031.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nourine, Fethi 1991 births Living people Algerian male judoka Sportspeople from Oran Olympic Games controversies Boycotts of Israel Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka for Algeria 21st-century Algerian sportsmen