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Six month ban for Iranian wrestler who deliberately lost to avoid match with Israel

Alireza Karimi was on orders to miss the semi-final against Israel's Uri Kalashnikov

February 19, 2018 17:33
Iranian wrestler Alireza Karimi in a bout with US rival Michael Tbory Cox (in the red) during the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics
1 min read

An Iranian wrestler has been banned for six months for throwing a bout to avoid facing an Israeli rival.

Alireza Karimi was leading Russia's Alikhan Zhabrailov 3-2 in the 86kg freestyle quarter-final at the Under-23 World Championships in November.

But after controversially being ordered to lose, Karimi deliberately conceded points to lose 14-3 in order to miss out on a semi-final against Israel's Uri Kalashnikov.

His coach, Hamidreza Jamshidi, was also suspended from the sport for two years.

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