Originally published at National Catholic Register
An Olympic judo athlete has been banned from competition in part because he made the sign of the cross at this year’s Olympic Games.
Serbian judo world champion Nemanja Majdov was hit with a five-month ban by the International Judo Foundation (IJF) after having made the ancient Christian sign while competing in the Paris games in July.
Serbian judoka Nemanja Majdov, has been disqualified for 5 months for making a Christian cross symbol during a match.
The International Judo Federation previously gave the athlete 2 warnings for making Christian symbols for showing his faith in God.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) September 19, 2024
In a statement posted to its website on Wednesday, the IJF criticized what it said were “numerous false claims and erroneous information that are currently circulating in the public domain” regarding the ban.
While the IJF admitted that Majdov was banned in part because he violated the league’s rules on having made a “clear religious sign” on the field of play, the conference said he broke several other league directives as well.
Specifically, Majdov “refused to bow to his opponent at the end of the contest,” and he also “removed [his] judogi in the field of play.” A judogi is the official uniform
