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Iran will send athletes to compete in the International Esports World Championship in Israel next February, in a precedent that marks Tehran’s departure from its government by boycotting all activities Israel participates in.
The “Gurzlium Post” newspaper reported that the decision to host the tournament in Israel was kept secret for months as a result of the efforts of Edo Broch, director of the Israeli eSports Association.
The tournament is organized by the South Korea-based International Esports Federation, as well as the Maccabi World Federation and the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
After announcing that Israel would host the tournament, Iran, along with other countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel, such as Indonesia, expressed disappointment as it appeared that it would not participate in the competition.
At a time when some countries in the region, such as Lebanon and Syria, refused to participate, Iran agreed to participate after their teams won the regional qualifiers.
The newspaper said Brosh was able to get approval from the Interior Ministry to allow Iranian players to enter Israel, with visa logistics handled by the Interior and Foreign Ministries alike.
Iran’s participation in this event represents a flagrant departure from its traditional policy regarding international competitions with Israeli teams.
Iran is forcing its athletes to withdraw from matches in which they face Israeli players.
Tehran forced judo champion Saeed Mallay to withdraw from the World Championships in Japan this summer, to avoid a possible confrontation with the Israeli player, Sagi Muki.
The Malaysian lost in the semi-final to Belgian Matthias Cass, while Muki won gold at the expense of Kas in the final to avoid having to face the Israeli player.
Malay justified his loss by saying he was “distracted and scared,” and said in his remarks to the International Federation website that members of the Iranian security services came to his family’s home to pressure him to leave.
Several Iranian athletes have already withdrawn from international competitions to avoid a possible confrontation with Israelis, in light of the state of hostility between the two countries.
