TURKISH WRESTLER BANNED FOR RACISM TO COMPETE AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
August 14, 2013
Former world and European Greco-Roman wrestling champion Rıza Kayaalp
of Turkey will compete in next month’s World Championships, Hurriyet
Daily News reports.
To note, Kayaalp was handed a six-month ban, by FILA (International
Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles) earlier this month, for
making racist comments against Armenians and Greeks.
In his Twitter account, the Turkish wrestler had blamed Istanbul’s
Gezi Park protesters for “leaving the streets to Armenians” and claimed
that “Armenia is having a festival” seeing the anti-government rallies
in Turkey.
After controversy erupted, the tweets were deleted, but FILA handed
a six-month ban to the Turkish athlete.
But the Turkish Wrestling Federation (TGF) appealed the decision. TGF
Chairman Hamza Yerlikaya defended Kayaalp, calling the ban was
“unlawful” and vowed to take the issue to Court of Arbitration for
Sport (CAS) if their appeal to FILA was not successful
FILA has delayed Rıza Kayaalp’s suspension for racism, announcing
that the case will be reviewed after next month’s World Championships.
NEWS.am Sport
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