Bishop Munilla denounces Cristophobia after sanction against Orthodox judoka for making the sign of the cross in Paris 2024

An Olympic judo athlete has been banned from competing, in part, because he made the sign of the cross at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

World judo champion Nemanja Majdov of Serbia was banned for five months by the International Judo Federation (IJF) after performing the ancient Christian sign while competing in the Olympics in July.

In this regard, the Bishop of Orihuela-Alicante (Spain), Mons. José Ignacio Munilla, regretted what happened and considered it a case of “Christophobia.”

“In addition to that blasphemous opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics, on top of that we have to put up with this,” the prelate said on his social networks. “Can you imagine something similar against Islam or Judaism?” He questioned.

Although he did not dwell on the topic of the opening ceremony, the prelate referred to the parody of the Last Supper, led by drag queens, that could be seen at the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which sparked a wave of reactions from indignation.

In one declaration Posted on its website on September 18, the IJF criticized what it said were “numerous false claims and misinformation currently circulating in the public domain” regarding the sanction.

While the IJF admitted that Majdov was punished in part because he violated league rules by making a “clearly religious sign” at the fight site, the federation said he also failed to abide by several other league directives.

Specifically, Majdov “refused to bow to his opponent at the end of the fight” and also “removed his judogi at the place of combat.” He judogi It is the official uniform of the martial art of judo.

Majdov had “a history of incidents related to his conduct,” the IJF added in its statement.

The federation further said that it had warned him in 2018 and 2022 about his conduct and that his “claims of not knowing the rule prohibiting the display of any religious, political, ethnic or other signs on the judo playing field” were not They were “accurate.”

The ban on religious symbols in the federation’s competitions “is strictly related to the place of combat, which is a space dedicated exclusively to judo and where only the specific signs and rules of judo are displayed, equally for everyone,” says the release.

In a post on his Instagram accountresponding to the statement, Majdov stressed that he did not want to “apologize (for the sign of the cross), and of course I did not and never will.”

“The Lord has given me everything, personally and for my career, and He is number 1 for me and I am proud of that,” said the Serbian athlete. “And that will not change under any conditions. Glory to Him and thank you for everything.”

Majdov is an Orthodox Christian and has shared some images of himself participating in Orthodox ceremonies on Instagram.