Iranian weightlifter Mostafa Rajaei has been given a lifetime ban after being pictured shaking hands with Israeli competitor Maksim Svirsky at the World Masters Weightlifting Championships in Poland.
Rajaei, who had represented Iran at international competitions previously, finished second overall in the men’s over-35 age group in the 240 lb division at the championships, even breaking the world record for the clean and jerk with a lift of 430 lbs.
It snapped the record set by Hungary’s Ferenc Gyurkovics set in 2014 at 428 lbs.
He took to Instagram, writing in a translated caption: “I could not work well because of the pain in my elbow.
“But in the two beats of God and gratitude, I became the first, and moved the world record by one kilogram [2 lbs].
“I came in second overall. Thanks to all dears who helped me in this way.”
But while celebrating his result on the podium along with overall champion Sargis Martirosjan from Austria and Israel’s Maksim Svirsky who placed third, Rajaei landed in hot water when he shook hands and took a photo with Svirsky.
The issue is that Iran does not recognize Israel, and prohibits all contact between Iranian and Israeli athletes.
It has seen the Iran Weightlifting Federation ban Rajaei for life for what was called an “unforgivable” indiscretion, fire head of the Iranian team at the event Hamid Salehinia, as well as dissolve the committee formed to represent veteran weightlifters in the country.
“The weightlifting federation bans athlete Mostafa Rajaei for life from entering all sports facilities in the country and dismisses the head of the delegation for the competition, Hamid Salehinia,” the body announced in a statement cited by state news agency IRNA.
According to the IRNA report, Rajaei “crossed the red lines of the Islamic Republic” at the event where the Iranian delegation had been “sent with the support of the federation.”
Rajaei is a former member of the Iranian national team and represented his country at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in 2015 in Thailand.
In 2021, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged athletes “not to shake hands with a representative of the (Israeli) criminal regime to obtain a medal.”
For years, Iranian athletes have managed to avoid meeting Israelis in competitions, often by getting disqualified or providing medical certificates testifying that they were unwell.
Young chess prodigy Alireza Firouzja left Iran after the sport’s federation banned him from playing in the 2019 world championship for fear he would face an Israeli player. He is now a naturalized French citizen.
Judo’s world governing body also imposed a four-year ban on Iran over the issue in 2021.