The Asian Shooting Championship, due to be held in Kuwait, has lost its status as an Olympic qualifying event after Kuwaiti authorities refused to grant a visa to an Israeli official.
Credit where it’s due, we hear a lot of schtick about various agencies and world bodies turning a blind eye to antisemitism and discrimination against Israelis. This is one instance where the International Olympic Committee did the right thing.
As reported in the Times of Israel:
The IOC executive board stripped the Asian Shooting Championship of its Olympic status on the request of the International Sports Shooting Federation. The event is scheduled from November 1-12.
The IOC said the federation’s technical delegate, Yair Davidovich of Israel, was scheduled to supervise the event on behalf of the ISSF but was denied a visa by the Kuwaiti immigration department.
“The denial of a visa is against the non-discrimination principle of the Olympic Charter,” the IOC said. “The Olympic Charter must apply for all Olympic Qualification competitions.”
