PARIS – Messaoud Redouane Dris of Algeria is the No. 14-ranked fighter in judo’s men’s under-73 kilo class. He’s the current African champion. A junior African champion. Last year, he took silver at the International Judo Federation Grand Prix in Zagreb, Croatia. He is the gold medalist at the 2022 Mediterranean Games.
This is a guy who, one would think, by any measure would relish the chance to get on the tatami at his first – very first – Olympic Games.
But no.
Drawn here in Paris into a first-round match against the Israeli veteran Tohar Butbul, Dris did not make weight. He was over by 400 grams. Translations: 73 kilos is just under 161 pounds; 400 grams is not even a pound.
It’s 0.88 of a pound
A regular can of Coca-Cola weighs 385 grams.
Tohar Butbul walks off the tatami after Messaoud Redouane Dris of Algeria, who didn’t make weight, formally does not show // Getty Images / AFP
So, what is to be concluded here:
1/ Dris is thoroughly incompetent. Strange. You’d think this would be the one place where you’d make entirely sure you’d be on target, right?
2/ But wait. Algeria does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. In all, 28 United Nations member states do not recognize Israel; Algeria is one of those 28. Algerian athletes have been down this road before with Israelis. Any number of Muslim nations have as well, but in this context it’s worth noting that in 2021 the IJF suspended another Algerian judo player, Fethi Nourine, who withdrew from the Tokyo Games to avoid facing the same Israeli, Butbul.
Butbul must think – wan joke here – the Olympics are like Christmas. Or, you know, Hanukkah.
But this is no joke.
Sport cannot solve the world’s problems.
But if we in sport can’t – in the words of the soul poet Rodney King – all get along, where are we?
This is the underlying premise, the whole point, of the Olympics. That, for 17 days, we put aside the politics that can divide governments. And let the action on the field of play do the talking.
The Israeli delegation, as it consistently has, sought to take the high road. The president of the Israel Olympic Committee is now Yael Arad, who – as it happens – is Israel’s first-ever medalist in any sport, from Barcelona in 1992, in judo. The Israeli committee put out a statement that said, “The Israeli delegation will continue to compete with the Olympic values in mind. We believe this kind of behavior has no place in the world of sport.”
The 30-year-old Butbul, quoted in the French sports newspaper L’Equipe, said of Dris, “He worked hard to be at the Olympics, but I think he has to deal with his government forcing him to withdraw.”
Butbul also said, “I think that the Algerian athlete and Muslim athletes are victims, because they are not allowed to compete.”
He also said, again referring to Dris, “I respect him. He is a very good judoka. And I hope that one day there will be peace in the Middle East, and that I could train in Algeria and he in Israel – that we could get on a tatami and fight, and that I could shake his hand. It is a message of peace.”
Butbul lost in his first match, to Monday’s gold medalist, Azerbaijan’s Hidayat Heydarov.
Every sport talks about being a “family.” The reality is that judo lives it. Does it have glitches? Problems? Sure. But perhaps unlike any other sport in the Olympic ecosystem, judo, under the presidency of Marius Vizer, walks the walk.
Vizer has been absolutely unequivocal in his commitment – which other federations could and should learn from – to not just the letter of the rules but the spirit of the family to which everyone, including in this instance the Algerians, claim to be part.
Here, there are 378 athletes from 122 nations.
Look at who wins medals – on Sunday, on the men’s side, Japan (of course), Moldova, Kazakhstan, Brazil. Women’s: Uzbekistan, Kosovo, France, Brazil.
The IJF tour goes to far-flung places such as Tblisi, Georgia, and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. And, until recently, Tel Aviv. Who else does that? No one.
This brings us to this week in Paris, and the backdrop to these Games, and then, finally, 22-year-old Messaoud Redouane Dris.
As everyone knows, these Olympics are taking place amid two conflicts that have drawn intense attention—one in Ukraine and the other in Gaza.
The open secret in international sport is Israel’s special position. Where, geographically, is the place? In west Asia. In Olympic politics, where is it grouped to avoid obvious geopolitical antipathy? In Europe.
Over the years, any number of athletes from any number of nations have made any number of gestures in interactions with Israeli athletes. Judo is not immune – no “family” is immune. On Sunday, in men’s under-66 action, Tajikistan’s Nurali Emomali declined to shake hands with Israeli’s Baruch Shmailov.
Backdrop No. 1: once a community of 15,000 Jews, only 200 remain now in Tajikistan.
Backdrop No. 2: Shaking hands is not, repeat not, a requirement in judo. It’s not like the handshake line in basketball. The requirement in judo is a post-match bow. Did the two competitors fulfill that requirement? Yes.
Backdrop No. 3, and give it whatever karma you wish: Emomali went out in his next match with a dislocated shoulder, courtesy of the ultimate gold medalist, Japan’s Hifume Abe.
Dris and the Algerians knew the day of the draw, last Thursday, what was what. They had plenty of time to work out how to get to 73 kilos.
Or whatever option might have been in mind.
Dris at the 2023 Zagreb Grand Prix // Tamara Kulumbegashvili // IJF
Here is where they picked the wrong sheriff.
When, some years ago, Iran’s Saied Mollaei was set upon by his own federation, who stood up for him? Vizer and the IJF. Mollaei went on to win silver in the men’s 81-kilo class in Tokyo.
This has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with favoritism toward Israel or Jews or anything of the sort.
Critics may want to say otherwise.
But it is the case.
The treasurer of the IJF is from the UAE. Other senior Arab officials play leading roles in the federation.
Fethi Nourine was direct about why he didn’t want to compete. He said his political support for the Palestinian cause made it impossible to square up against Bubul.
The IJF would later say he used the Games as a “platform for protest and promotion of political and religious propaganda,” and suspended him for 10 years. His judo career: done.
By the way – Nourine had pulled out of the 2019 world championships for the same reason.
It’s not difficult to construct a scenario in which, having seen what happened when Nourine went through the front door, one might now try the side door.
Same result – don’t have to meet Butbul.
But without saying anything about anything.
All the same, it’s also not that challenging to imagine what might be what.
This is why the IJF on Monday issued a statement – to its credit, re-tweeted by an IOC spokesman – that should be read carefully:
It says “this kind of incident” can happen – that is, missing weight. Four judo players didn’t pass weight control in Tokyo, it said. There were 393 in Tokyo, so not even 1%.
Now the three most interesting sentences:
“We believe that sport should remain a realm of integrity and fairness, free from the influences of international conflicts. Unfortunately, athletes often become victims of broader political disputes which are against the values of sport.”
“… We cannot provide justification for the overweight status of Mr. Dris but we remain committed to ensuring that all athletes compete under equal and fair conditions.”
And, in case anyone needed reminding, this is far from over. If in sport we can’t try to get along, where are we?
“Following the Olympic Games, a full review and investigation of the situation will be conducted and further action will be taken if needed.”