The Times-  An Iranian wrestler is being lionised by the government for deliberately losing a match at a junior world championships so he would not have to fight an Israeli in the next round.

Alireza Karimi, 23, was well ahead in his quarter-final bout in the under-23 World Championships against a Russian, Alikhan Zhabrailov. Then news came in that in another quarter-final Uri Kalashnikov, the Israeli, had won. In a video of the event posted online, a voice can clearly be heard off-camera saying “Alireza, you have to lose!”

“In a moment, my whole world seemed to come to an end,” Karimi said afterwards.

Iran not only refuses to recognise the state of Israel but will not to allow any interaction by its citizens with Israelis.

Read more here