Fethi Nourine ( ar, فتحي نورين; born 14 June 1991) is an Algerian

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

, who has competed in the under 73 kg weight category, and won three African Judo Championships. Nourine has been suspended by the

International Judo Federation The International Judo Federation (IJF) was founded in July 1951. The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina. Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years. Today the IJF has 200 National ...

until July 2031 for refusing to fight an Israeli athlete at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Career

Raised in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, he started judo aged seven after being introduced to the discipline by his brother. In 2014, he won the under 66 kg event at the African Open, beating fellow Algerian Houd Zourdani in the final. It was Algeria's first gold medal of the tournament. He became African champion in the under 73 kg event after winning the event at the

2018 African Judo Championships The 2018 African Judo Championships were the 39th edition of the African Judo Championships, organised by the African Judo Union. The events took place in Tunis, Tunisia from 12–15 April 2018. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Pa ...

. He retained his title the following year in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. That same year he participated in the World Championships in Japan. He won his first match but then pulled out of the tournament as he refused to face his next scheduled opponent, the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i competitor

Tohar Butbul Tohar Butbul ( he, טוהר בוטבול; born 24 January 1994) is an Israeli judoka. He competes in the under 73 kg weight category, where he won silver medals at the 2019 Judo World Masters and the 2021 European Championships, and won ...

for what he said were political reasons. In 2021, Nourine won the under 73 kg event at the African Judo Championships. Selected to compete at the delayed

in the -73 kg weight class, Nourine and his coach

Amar Benikhlef Amar Benikhlef (born 11 January 1982) is an Algerian judoka who competed in the middleweight division. He won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In September 2021, Benikhlef was suspended for 10 years, until July 2031. Bi ...

announced his withdrawal following the conclusion of the draw of competitors. Nourine was quoted as saying his political support for the

Palestinian cause Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Palestinian National Charter of 1968' ...

made it impossible for him to compete against an Israeli like Tohar Butbul, the # 5 seed in the tournament, who he was drawn to potentially face in the second round, had he won in the first round. The

announced his and his coach's immediate suspensions on 24 July 2021, pending a further investigation, and sent Nourine and his coach back home to Algeria from Tokyo. In September 2021, Nourine and Benikhlef were both suspended for ten years, until July 2031.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nourine, Fethi 1991 births Living people Algerian male judoka Sportspeople from Oran Olympic Games controversies Arab–Israeli conflict Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka of Algeria 21st-century Algerian people 20th-century Algerian people