The head of the agency stated that there is no reason to take disciplinary action against Elnaz Rekabi because she acted “unintentionally”.
Elnaz Rekabi, the Iranian climber who performed in a competition in Seoul on 20 October without her hijab, a religious headscarf mandatory for women in Iran, will not be punished or suspended by the National Olympic Committee of Iran , declared this Thursday the president of the organization, Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa, according to the Associated Press.
Khosravi Vafa declared that what happened “was not a big deal” and that there is no reason to take disciplinary action against Rekabi, who acted “unintentionally”
. The athlete herself, upon her return to Tehran on Wednesday, described her behavior as “involuntary”, stating that she had been rushed out to compete, although a video of her ascent showed her relaxed and waving to the crowd.
The Iranian official said he spoke with the climber and assured her that she is “very talented in sports and that he should continue on this path, to perhaps qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris. To that he added that “the Iranian Olympic Committee will fully support it”.
Rekabi became a hero to protesters who have been protesting in Iran for weeks against strict religious rules on women’s dress. Hundreds of people gathered in front of Tehran International Airport to await her arrival and nicknamed her “Elnaz the Champion”
.
The protests in Iran began after the death, the 16 September, from Mahsa Amini
, from 22 years old, who had been arrested by the so-called ‘Morality Police’ for wearing her hijab incorrectly.
