Olympic athlete suspended over Christian gesture

Serbian judoka Nemanja Majdov has been banned for five months for crossing himself before a bout at the Paris Games

The International Judo Federation (IJF) has penalized Serbia’s Nemanja Majdov for violating the organization’s religious rules during a bout at the Olympic Games in Paris, the athlete announced on Monday via social media.

Majdov said he was informed of the decision 15 days ago and was told that the five-month suspension was for making the sign of the cross before a fight against Greece’s Teodor Tselidis.

The athlete said that until the ban expires, he will be unable to participate in any tournaments, camps or preparations.

In a post on Instagram, Majdov said that in his response letter to the IJF he had refused to apologize for the gesture – and that he even if he had known the punishment he would receive, he would not have apologized.

“Nothing new for me personally, just a new page in my career and a new life experience. I’m sorry that such a beautiful and difficult sport like judo has fallen to such things,” the athlete wrote. 

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During his bout against Tselidis, Majdov suffered an early defeat after receiving three yellow cards. Frustrated by the disqualification, Majdov spoke out harshly against the ruling and the Paris Olympics as a whole.

“Satanic trash. Their judging is poisoned… Disqualify me in two minutes and don’t give me a chance to show anything at all… These values of yours, sports and Olympics are just trash,” Majdov wrote in a since-deleted series of posts on Instagram. “Judo is a lost sport. 100% of the outcome of the fight is controlled by the referees. Those who bend over and bow to them get ahead. You will never get that from me. I don’t need such a medal.”

The IJF has yet to issue an official statement on the athlete’s suspension.