Another judoka drops out of Olympics before facing Israeli opponent Tohar Butbul

Tokyo Olympics. Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool weighed in for his match against Butbul, who is from Israel, but did not show up for the bout, according to The Guardian.

Both the International Judo Foundation and Sudanese Olympic officials did not provide a reason for why Abdalrasool missed the match. It's the second time a potential opponent of Butbul's has dropped out of the event.

Abdalrasool was supposed to face Algerian Fethi Nourine in an earlier round, but Nourine pulled due to the winner of that fight having to take on Butbul in the round of 16. Nourine said he didn't want to compete against Butbul due to Nourine's political support of Palestine. Nourine is not the first athlete to refuse to compete against Israeli opponents.

Both Nourine and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, were temporarily suspended by the International Judo Foundation. The IJF cited its "strict non-discrimination policy, promoting solidarity as a key principle, reinforced by the values of judo," as the reason for the suspension.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/olympics/another-judoka-drops-out-of-olympics-before-facing-israeli-opponent-tohar-butbul/ar-AAMz3t1