Lebanon’s judo squad refuses to train next to the Israelis

Lebanon’s Olympic judo team has refused to train next to the Israeli competitors at sessions ahead of London 2012.

By Danny Caro and Marcus Dysch

 

Olympic officials were forced to erect a special screen at the Excel venue following a complaint from a member of the Lebanese delegation.

Alice Schlesinger, who is on the Israeli judo team

Alice Schlesinger, who is on the Israeli judo team

It is understood the two squads had been warming up next to each other when the complaint was made on Friday afternoon.

An Israeli official at the venue confirmed a partition had been used to block the view and said the session had then continued with minimum disruption.

He said the Israeli squad had been happy with the original training arrangements but had not objected to the screen being used.

It is not known whether members of the Lebanon team will refuse to compete against Israel’s judo players if they are drawn together during the Olympics.

 

Follow The JC on Twitter
View original JC publication at: http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/70549/lebanons-judo-team-refuses-train-alongside-israelis