Suspend Iran from International Competition

[Rob2012]

Time for the IOC to show their observer status at the UN is not just a massage for their egos.

http://www.channel4.com/news/ghoncheh-ghavami-sentenced-jail-one-year-iran-volleyball

No equality in sport should = no Olympic representation.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Rob.

[ofan]

Time for the IOC to show their observer status at the UN is not just a massage for their egos.

http://www.channel4.com/news/ghoncheh-ghavami-sentenced-jail-one-year-iran-volleyball

No equality in sport should = no Olympic representation.

The IOC should just ban everyone in that region. In fact, we should just forget about them all together.

[runningrings]

Time for the IOC to show their observer status at the UN is not just a massage for their egos.

http://www.channel4.com/news/ghoncheh-ghavami-sentenced-jail-one-year-iran-volleyball

No equality in sport should = no Olympic representation.

This kind of gender discrimination has been going on for decades- dont get why the media are so up in arms over this case in particular... Probably due to the fact the person involved is a British subject?

It's a tricky line for the IOC to tread, and frankly not that simple. They suspend Iran, which I believe there would be cause to, then it opens up a can of worms for the suspension of other nations. Probably shouldnt have got all idealistic under Rogge and forged the relationship with the UN.

[Olympic Fan Darcy]

Sounds a bit gay having a stadium full of men and only men.

Oh no wait, they hate the gays too.

[Victor Mata]

How about the Federations start putting some pressure here and there? The IFs are make up an important chunk of the IOC and they don't seem to care much about violations such as these.

[Rob2012]

Well the IOC and the Federation both contacted Iran about this a couple of weeks ago, stating their unhappiness. But now that Iran has ignored this, both need to show some teeth and put on some real pressure I think.

[Alexjc]

I agree that a handful of nations in this region should have restrictions place. Some of these governments are monstrosities.

But shouldn't the Emirates and Saudi Arabia be sanctioned as well?...or is the money river they generate too great to shut off.

It's a hard one but do agree that openly hostile regimes that blatantly breach human rights on a grand scale should be banned (and that includes Israel). This is my own opinion though.

[phandrosis]

Hey, if they can ban India for having a messed up NOC, they can ban Iran

[baron-pierreIV]

FIVB should act on it. The Iranian men's team is rising in the standings; maybe some action will threaten that. But I doubt that that would be enuf to have the mullahs and their courts bend the rules.

[mr.bernham]

Why don't we just ban that whole damn continent...I mean sh*t, the place is already eurocentric.

[Ikarus360]

Islam. You know, the religion of love and tolerance, right?

Now seriously, don't raise your hopes. The IOC are just a bunch of hypocrites. If they really want to fight discrimination they would had banned countries like Saudi Arabia long time ago, for example.

Lets not forget they all ganged up on Israel and banned them forever from the Asian Games.

[olympiaki-agones]

The IOC should let them compete, but under the Olympic flag. Why to ban a whole country? This is the regime, not people. I know a lot of westerners who need to be banned wherever the go or speak their minds.

[zekekelso]

Why don't we just ban that whole damn continent...I mean sh*t, the place is already eurocentric.

Asia?

[StefanMUC]

The IOC didn't ban Iran when some of its active athletes refused to compete against Israelis (or were told to do so).

The IOC will certainly not step in now because a spectator is being imprisoned.

Should they take action? Yes, but as with most sanctions, it would probably not hit those it should. And there's actually quite a long list of NOCs that should be on a blacklist...

[Olympic Fan Darcy]

She's now on a hunger strike

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-04/woman-jailed-for-trying-to-watch-volleyball-starts-hunger-strike/5864656

[Rob2012]

British-Iranian woman freed after Iran volleyball jailing

Ghoncheh Ghavami, an Iranian-British woman who was jailed for trying to attend a men's volleyball game in Iran, has been released on bail.

Her brother, Iman Ghavami, said she had been bailed for £20,000, "and now wants to spend time with her family".

"She has been bailed until her court appeal, when she hopes to be vindicated," he added.

http://www.channel4.com/news/ghoncheh-ghavami-volleyball-iran-tehran-prison-hunger-strike

[LatinXTC]

Turkey could possibly face major criticism from the IOC for their president saying this

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/Women-not-equal-to-men-Turkeys-Erdogan/ar-BBfA1gM?ocid=ansnewsafp11

[Ikarus360]

Erdogan is quickly becoming a very hated person these days in Turkey and abroad. I mean, what part of "Turkey is a SECULAR country and you can't force your religion to all the population" doesn't he understands?

[StefanMUC]

Turkey could possibly face major criticism from the IOC for their president saying this

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/Women-not-equal-to-men-Turkeys-Erdogan/ar-BBfA1gM?ocid=ansnewsafp11

The IOC won't bother. Turkey/Istanbul has become a non-option quickly. I dare say they managed to spoil quickly what could have been theirs for 2020. And with a war next door, there's even no need to reprimand a lunatic political leader anymore, the practical risks are already obvious anyway.

[Proposition Joe]

While some states may have serious issues with human rights abuses, I think that it is important not to demonize entire ethnic groups or religions.

Lets not forget they all ganged up on Israel and banned them forever from the Asian Games.

Israel deserves to be banned from any sports federation it may be apart of in the same way South Africa was boycotted.

[baron-pierreIV]

Israel deserves to be banned from any sports federation it may be apart of in the same way South Africa was boycotted.

Are you stupid or what??

[Quaker2001]

While some states may have serious issues with human rights abuses, I think that it is important not to demonize entire ethnic groups or religions.

Israel deserves to be banned from any sports federation it may be apart of in the same way South Africa was boycotted.

Want to elaborate on that one? Because it's curious that you say it's important not to demonize entire ethnic groups or religions and then in your next breath, you say ban Israel from organized sport.

[Proposition Joe]

Want to elaborate on that one? Because it's curious that you say it's important not to demonize entire ethnic groups or religions and then in your next breath, you say ban Israel from organized sport.

Israel is one of the worst human rights abusers in the world, what else is there to elaborate on? The sporting ban on South Africa played a large part in placing international pressure on South Africa to end their apartheid and I think that if global sport has the ability to influence the world in a similar matter today or tomorrow then they should place similar bans on countries that are guilty of such crimes.

I mean, it's not really an outrageous proposition if people are willing to ban Iran who, while they are guilty of pretty serious human rights issues, don't commit the war crimes that Israel commits on a regular basis.

[Quaker2001]

Israel is one of the worst human rights abusers in the world, what else is there to elaborate on? The sporting ban on South Africa played a large part in placing international pressure on South Africa to end their apartheid and I think that if global sport has the ability to influence the world in a similar matter today or tomorrow then they should place similar bans on countries that are guilty of such crimes.

I mean, it's not really an outrageous proposition if people are willing to ban Iran who, while they are guilty of pretty serious human rights issues, don't commit the war crimes that Israel commits on a regular basis.

I'm going to try my best not to turn this into political commentary moreso than it already is, but thank you for clarifying your position of being an uninformed idiot. Do you even know what human rights abuse is? What human rights are being abused in Israel? How about this.. please, show me a list of countries or any sort of documentation saying Israel is one of the worst human rights abusers in the world. Don't conflate that concept and war crimes into one. They are 2 completely separate concepts and one has nothing to do with the other.

What was going on in South Africa certainly falls under the category of human rights. As do the LGBT laws in Russia. And in Iran where a person can get thrown in jail for watching a volleyball match. These aren't war crimes. These are supposed to be basic rights that are being taken away from people. I mean, if we're going to talk about war crimes, heck we probably need to ban the United States as well!

Again, I don't want to turn this topic into a commentary on Israel, but seriously, do yourself a favor and educate yourself on what basic human rights are and then tell me how Israel (in comparison to so many other countries) deserves to be banned from international sport. Because what you're saying is outrageously ignorant.

[Rob2012]

My point wasn't really about human rights; if you go down that road then you'll end up with virtually no countries competing (although of course some are far worse than others in this regard even if few are perfect).

With Sochi 2014 - for example - it's arguable that expecting a sporting body to be able to do anything about Russia's gay rights situation is expecting too much. Banning someone from attending a sporting event because of their gender, however, has everything to do with the IOC and what they claim to stand for, and should be an automatic kick-out-the-door offence. No ifs, no buts. If the IOC thinks sport is universal, they should prove it.