Recently, a Serbian judo champion received a five-month suspension after he made the sign of the cross after his match in the Paris Olympics to express his faith in Christ. Twenty-eight-year-old Nemanja Majdov was recently informed that he would not be allowed to compete in any International Judo Federation (IJF) sanctioned fights until February 2025 after he supposedly violated rules by making the gesture.
According to the IJF, Majdov was sanctioned because of “having shown a clear religious sign when entering the field of play.” Footage from a July 31 match confirms that the fighter did perform the sign of the cross to give honor to God as he walked away from the mat.
Speaking about the suspension, Majdov took to Instagram, writing, “15 days ago, I received a notice from the World Judo Federation about a five-month suspension for violating religious codes. More precisely, for crossing myself when entering a fight at the Olympic Games. I am prohibited from participating in all tournaments, training camps, and training.”
He added, “More precisely, because of [making a sign of the cross] when entering a match at the Olympic Games. I was banned from participating in all tournaments, camps, and preparations. 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.”
Giving all the glory to God, he continued, “The Lord has given me everything, both for me personally and for my career, and he is number 1 for me, and I am proud of that. And that will not change under any circumstances. Glory to Him, and thanks for everything. Nothing new for me personally, just a new page in my career and a new life experience. I’m sorry that such a beautiful and difficult sport like judo has fallen to such things.”
Continuing to praise the Lord he said, “God gave me a great career, 7 European and three world medals. When I started, I dreamed of winning at least one big medal and thus succeeding in my life and the life of my family, who sacrificed everything for my career. He gave us a lot more and even borrowed too much so that I would bow my head in front of them when it came either-or.” He concluded, “We will rest until then, and then we will return with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ to a new beginning and new victories.”
The international fighting organization claims that it “respects and appreciates equally all cultures, nationalities, religions and orientations” but maintains that the rules prohibiting religious expression are to make athletes “feel respected and accepted.”
“Our rules regarding the display of religious or other signs are strictly related to the field of play, which is a space dedicated exclusively for judo and where only the judo-specific signs and rules are on display, equally for all,” the organization said. “The IJF does not forbid the practice of religions or religious signs outside the field of play, as we continue to respect the individual freedom of each member of our community.”
Watch Majdov below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.