CAIRO, Aug 12 (Aswat Masriya) – Egyptian judoka Islam al-Shehaby refused to shake hands with his Israeli contender Or Sasson, after the former lost the game to the latter at the Olympics in Rio de Janiero on Friday.

In the days leading up to the match, Egyptian social media users have been pressuring Shehaby to withdraw as many of them considered his consent to face Sasson as “normalisation” with Israel.

But Shehaby decided against withdrawal. He however refused to salute Sasson at the end of the match, prompting paradoxical reactions on social media.

While some blamed the pressure on Shehaby as the primary reason for his loss, others maintained their stance that he should not have agreed to face Sasson and considered it a double defeat.

This is not the first instance for an Egyptian player to refuse shaking hands with an Israeli rival.

In 2012, Egyptian judoka Ramdan Darwish abstained from saluting Arik Zeevi after the former defeated Zeevi in the quarterfinals of the Judo Grand Prix in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Also in 2012, the Egyptian national roller hockey team refused to face its Israeli counterpart at the hockey final then.

According to Judo Base World Ranking, Sasson is ranked 5th and Shehaby is ranked 25th,

Egyptians have long held strong sentiments against the state of Israel, triggered by three wars over the 20th century and sympathy for the Palestinian cause.  

Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979 after months of negotiations, ending a state of war and normalising ties. Egypt was the first Arab country to recognise the Israel.