Controversy sports normalization .. Tunisian boxing refuses to face Israeli

Magdi Saidi - Tunisia

The issue of sports normalization with Israel surfaced again on the surface of sporting events in Tunisia after Tunisian boxer Maysa Abbasi refused Tuesday morning to face Israeli competition in an international tournament in Russia.

While the Tunisian Boxing Federation refused to give any information about the incident, a source close to the association said that Messa, who is part of Tunisia's women's boxing team at the international tournament with three other boxers, preferred to withdraw from the match once the draw was drawn against an Israeli player.

The source, who declined to be identified, told Al-Jazeera Net that Mesa had lost the game by withdrawing after refusing to advance to the ring ahead of the start of the stand-off as Tunisia prepares for an Olympic qualifier hosted by Senegal in August.

Refusal to normalize
Mesa 'Abbasi province has re-confronted Israeli boxing over Arab athletes' refusal to confront rivals from Israel.

A number of activists expressed their pride over the achievements of Maysa and considered that they had achieved a moral victory over the Zionist entity, but a number of other observers considered that confrontation and defeated Israel mathematically may be a better option than boycott and withdrawal.

Repeated boycotts of the Tunisian athletes' matches with Israeli competitors in international tournaments and competitions were repeated as a kind of expression of Tunisia's refusal to normalize with the Zionist entity in the sports field.

Tunisia's Azza Basbas has refused to face Israel's Naomi Malis at the World Fencing Championships in Italy in 2011.

In October 2013 Tunisian tennis player Malik Jaziri withdrew from the Tashkent international tournament after refusing to face his Israeli rival Amir Winterrup in an incident that sparked controversy after accusing the authorities of putting pressure on the player to push him to withdraw.

In the same year, tennis player Anas Gaber withdrew from the quarter-finals of Baku's Azeri tournament when she advanced to Polish Magda Linet 6-3, 4-1. Media sources at the time said that Jaber, who withdrew under the pretext of injury, is no more than her decision to be a refusal to confront the Israeli Shahar Peer in the event of qualifying according to the draw.

Tunisia's sports ministry in 2013 subjected the Taekwondo wrestlers to investigation after playing two matches against Israeli rivals at an international tournament in Belgium.

Province is the solution?
Not only was sports normalization denied to the players but also referees. At the 2017 Karate World Championships in Tenerife, Tunisian international referee Mohamed Ali Al-Sherif withdrew from a match between a player from the Zionist entity and another from Denmark, refusing to lead any remaining player Israeli conflict.

Commenting on the incident and the boycott of Israeli athletes, Al-Sharif told Al-Jazeera Net that "My decision was personal and I was convinced that no one has pushed me out of the rug and refused to manage the game. I can not be part of a meeting with an Israeli player."

He explained that he had been held accountable by the Organizing Committee of the World Championships and by the International Karate Federation, which had been sentenced to life imprisonment before reducing the sentence to six months' suspension.

In the view of international governance that the boycott is the most appropriate solution to express the lack of recognition of the State of the Zionist entity and support the Palestinian cause, he said.

International sports federations often impose suspended penalties for varying periods of time against athletes who withdraw spontaneously before confronting Israeli rivals and threaten to withdraw local sports federations.