Paralympic athlete disqualified and stripped of gold medal due to unusual rule violation related to a gesture and flag.

Sadegh Beit Sayah of Iran has lost his Paralympic gold medal after receiving two yellow card penalties.

The 37-year-old athlete achieved a new Paralympic record in the men’s F41 Javelin final on Saturday with a throw of 47.64 meters.

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However, his joy was quickly overshadowed by disappointment, as he was disqualified just before the awards ceremony for unfurling a religious flag during his celebration.

Prior to this, Beit Sayah received his first yellow card for allegedly making a throat-slitting gesture following his record-breaking throw.

Afterwards, he unveiled a black flag with red writing, prompting a second warning.

In the aftermath of his disqualification, Beit Sayah explained that the flag held no political significance; rather, it was a religious symbol honoring Hazrat Ummul Banin, the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam.

Nevertheless, according to rule 8.1 of the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) regulations, “The IPC Code of Ethics and the World Para Athletics Code of Conduct (both located on the IPC website) shall apply to all participants in World Para Athletics Recognised Competitions.”

Additionally, the flag contravened rule 1.11 of the IPC Code of Ethics, which mandates that athletes refrain from using the Paralympic Games to further any political agenda beyond promoting sport for those with impairments, as well as democracy, empowerment, equality, and human rights.

An appeal against this decision was made, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

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The head of Iran’s Para-Athletics Association, Aliasghar Hadizadeh, commented, “When the competition concluded and the results were announced, we learned about his disqualification and immediately lodged a strong protest to the authorities.

“After our protest, a meeting was convened, and the competition videos were reviewed. Some aspects of Beit Sayah’s conduct did not meet the referee’s approval, leading to his disqualification.

“Typically, when athletes break records, they gesture across their necks to signify their achievement, which was misinterpreted, resulting in the first yellow card for Beit Sayah.”

Regarding the flag, Hadizadeh added, « We usually present the Iranian flag to the athlete, but Mr. Beit Sayah brought out this flag from his sports bag out of his devotion to Hazrat Ummul Banin, resulting in the second yellow card and the loss of his gold medal and record. »

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Beit Sayah was not disqualified for displaying the Iranian flag during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, possibly because he received only one yellow card at that event.

Following his disqualification, India’s Navdeep Singh was awarded the gold medal, while silver and bronze went to China’s Sun Pengxiang and Iraq’s Wildan Nukhailawi, respectively.

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