Serbian judo star Nemanja Majdov was banned for five months for making the sign of the cross before he competed at the recent Paris Olympics.
Majdov, 28, was accused by the International Judo Federation of violating its code of conduct for “having shown a clear religious sign when entering the field of play” and barred from participating in “all tournaments, camps and preparations” through February 2025.
Majdov, who is Serbian Orthodox, can be seen in a video making the religious gesture — a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity — on July 31 before taking on Greece’s Theodoros Tselidis.
Two weeks ago, Majdov said on Instagram that he “received a decision that I was suspended for five months by the World Judo Federation for violating their religious codes. More precisely, because of [making a sign of the cross] when entering a match at the Olympic Games.”
According to the IJF on Wednesday, Majdov was also punished for “refusing to bow” to Tselidis after he lost the Round of 16 match.
Majdov is one of the best at judo in the world. He won a gold medal at the 2017 World Judo Championships in Budapest. At the 2018 European Judo Championships in Tel Aviv, Majdov won his first senior European medal, a silver, and another silver medal at the 2022 Judo Grand Slam Tel Aviv.
The IJF said in a statement that it does not allow athletes to display religious signs near the field of play and has “zero tolerance for any form of discrimination or provocation that may impact our athletes’ performance.”
“With 205-member national federations, each representing a different country or recognized territory (associate members), it is the duty of the IJF to ensure that the field of play is reserved for judo and governed exclusively by the rules of our sport,” the IJF said.
The organization also said Majdov had been warned twice — in April 2018 and again in February 2022 — for “breaching the IJF code of ethics.”
“In those cases, Majdov refused to apologize, saying he was honoring his Christian faith,” IJF added.
Majdov did not deny the accusations.
“True, in the defense letter of the disciplinary proceedings, I did not want to apologize … and of course, I did not, nor will I ever, although I did not even know what the punishment could be,” he said.
The suspension comes as the Olympics were overwhelmed by controversy following fallout from the “Last Supper” scene during the Opening Ceremony.
Catholic Bishops and prominent prelates from across the globe joined the French Bishops’ Conference and U.S. bishops in criticizing the July 26 ceremony, calling it a deplorable depiction of Christianity.
To critics, the scene evoked Jesus and his apostles in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting “The Last Supper.” The display featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch, a self-proclaimed lesbian, wearing a silver headdress that looked like a halo, flanked by dancers in drag.
Paris 2024 organizers had said the performance had been an “interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus” to make the world “aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.” Nonetheless, organizers eventually apologized to anyone who was offended by the tableau.
Produced in association with Religion Unplugged
Edited by Priscilla Jepchumba and Newsdesk Manager
