Stupid idiot! No matter what side you come down on politically, there is no ROOM for this kind of behavior in the world of sports. End of story. Don't we already have enough people in the world who act like schmucks? Do we really need another Iranian schmuck to add to the horde?
From The New York Times
Iranian, Refusing to Play Israeli, Expelled From Chess Meet
By DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN
October 26, 2011
PARIS — [Excerpted] One of Iran’s top grandmasters was expelled from an international chess tournament on Tuesday after he refused to play a match against an Israeli opponent, the director of the tournament said.
The Iranian, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, was scheduled to play Ehud Shachar in the fourth round of the Corsica Masters, a pairing determined by computer.
The director, Léo Battesti, said in a telephone interview that Mr. Maghami had asked him to change the pairing, but was told that doing so would violate tournament rules. Mr. Maghami then failed to appear at the scheduled time to play Mr. Shachar.
Mr. Battesti said Mr. Maghami should have told him beforehand that he would object to playing an Israeli. Given that five of the 186 players in the tournament were Israelis, the likelihood that he would face one during the tournament’s nine rounds was “99 percent,” Mr. Battesti said. “I told him, you cannot involve your rules in my tournament,” he said.
Mr. Shachar said something like this had never happened to him before, though it had to other Israeli players he knew. Usually, someone who balks at a particular opponent forfeits one game, he said, but “in this case, the organizer took a stand.”
Iranians have refused to compete against Israelis in other international sporting events this year, including the world wrestling championships in Istanbul in September and the world swimming championships in Shanghai in July. [SCHMUCKS. FIDE SHOULD BAN THIS IRANIAN PLAYER FOR A YEAR FOR HIS BAD SPORTSMANSHIP. HEY, KIRSAN, SHOW SOME BALLS.]
Before jumping to conclusions about the Iranian player's personal motive, you should be aware that he may have done this due to the threat of punishment from his own government should he play against the Israeli. It has been known to happen.
ReplyDeleteHe has the option to not play chess, he has the option to tell the Iranian government to stick it and to ask for political asylum in another country. He had the option to handle this in an entirely different way because he is bound to face the possibility to play against Jewish players in many different tournaments, and chose not to. Do I judge him? You bet. A "go along to get along" while holding one's nose mentality is what enabled Hitler and the Nazis to practically destroy the world with thier hatred, and if we and the Iranian people themselves do not stand up against the current nazis ruling in Iran, it will happen all over again.
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