Herda Raouf, head of the Iraqi delegation to the Paris Olympics, said on Saturday that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has refused Iraq’s request not to display the Israeli flag next to theirs during soccer matches.
“When we arrived at Lyon Stadium, we found the Iraqi flag displayed next to the Israeli flag,” Raouf complained to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Raouf said his delegation emailed two requests to the IOC to move the Israeli flag, but the IOC refused both times, on the grounds that all participating national flags must be displayed “in alphabetical order.”
Israel’s soccer team played at a different venue, the Parc des Princes, under heavy security against possible terrorist attacks. French police are investigating death threats against three Israeli Olympic athletes, and said hate crimes were threatened during Israel’s soccer matches.
The match went off without terrorist incidents on Saturday, although there were plenty of hate crimes, including Palestinian supporters waving banners that read “Genocide Olympics” and making “gestures of an anti-Semitic nature,” as a spokesperson for the Paris Olympics put it. Israel National News cited social media videos that showed protesters “making the Nazi salute and chant” during the Israeli national anthem.”
The Israeli team lost to Paraguay, 4-2. Israel’s first match of the Olympics was a 1-1 tie against Mali last week.
The Israeli team’s last chance to advance into the knockout stage of the competition will be a match against Japan on Tuesday.
Iraq does not formally recognize the existence of the Jewish state and has outspokenly supported the Palestinians ever since the brutal Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on October 7. The Iraqi government refused to condemn the October 7 atrocities.
The Iraqi parliament passed a law in May 2022 that makes it a crime to normalize relations with the “Zionist entity.” The law, originally proposed by influential Iraqi Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, imposes penalties up to life imprisonment, and even the death penalty, for Iraqis who take steps to establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel.
The first positive test for illegal doping at the Paris Olympics resulted in the suspension of an Iraqi judo competitor suspended on Friday. Sajjad Sehen, 28, tested positive for the steroids metandienone and boldenone.
