UAE refuses to play Israel national anthem for judo gold medal winner

An Israeli judoka who won gold at a competition quietly sang his national anthem to himself during the medal ceremony after organisers refused to play the music or raise his country's flag.

Tal Flicker, ranked world number one in the men's under-66 kilogram competition, won gold on Thursday (local time) at the Judo Grand-Slam in Abu Dhabi.

But as he took to the podium to accept his medal, the tournament organisers played the official music of the International Judo Federation (IJF) and raised the IJF's flag.

He could be seen on the podium apparently mouthing the words to the Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem.

Flicker was forced to compete under the IJF flag after the United Arab Emirates banned Israeli athletes from wearing their country's symbols on uniforms, and singled Israel out with a ban on displaying its flag or playing its anthem during events.

The UAE, like many Arab countries, does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and remains opposed to its occupation of lands Palestinians want for a future state.

Only Egypt and Jordan host Israeli Embassies in the Middle East.

This week's incident came after the IJF demanded that the UAE treat Israeli athletes equally.

A letter from the IJF to the president of the UAE Judo Federation obtained by The Associated Press said that "all delegations, including the Israeli delegation, shall be treated absolutely equally in all aspects, without any exception".

It is not the first occasion Israeli delegates have been singled out at international sporting events.

An Egyptian judoka refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent at the Rio Olympics last year, and Tunisia's tennis federation ordered the country's top player to withdraw from a match against an Israeli opponent at a tournament in 2013.

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