Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Iranian athlete was disqualified after winning the men’s javelin throw event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics for displaying the ISIS flag during his celebrations.
Fact
Athlete had unfurled the religious flag of Hazrat Umm al-Banin, the second of two offences he committed during the event that resulted in the disqualification.
Several social media users are circulating an image, claiming that it shows Iranian para-athlete Beit Sayah Sadegh allegedly displaying the flag of terrorist group ISIS after winning the gold in the men’s javelin throw F41 event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Sadegh was reportedly disqualified for the act, which cost him the medal and upgraded India’s para-athlete Navdeep Singh’s silver to gold. The F41 category is for athletes of short stature with Singh’s win marking India’s first-ever gold in this category at the Paralympics.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker saw that the flag held by Sadegh did not bear resemblance to the ISIS flag (right), considering the apparent red colour of the inscription.
We then ran a keyword search for “Beit Sayeh Sadegh ISIS flag Paralympics”, which led to multiple reports on Sadegh’s controversial disqualification, stating that the 37-year-old was sensationally stripped of his gold medal after receiving two yellow cards during the event. According to the rules of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), athletes are not allowed to display any non-state flags.
“His first yellow card came in the middle of the event when his celebratory gesture of running a finger across his neck, the gesture was interpreted as unsportsmanlike by the referee. The second came after he had won the event as he unfurled a black flag with red writing on it. It was the flag of Hazrat Umm al-Banin. The religious flag was a breach of the International Paralympics Committee regulations and saw him shown a second yellow card and subsequent disqualification,” read a Fox News report, dated September 9, 2024. Similar reports can be seen here and here, confirming that Sadegh was given two yellow cards for two separate incidents around the event, resulting in his disqualification.
His unfurling of the black flag was a violation of rule 1.11 of the International Paralympic Committee’s code of ethics, which states, “Refrain from using the Paralympic Games and the Paralympic Movement to promote any political agenda, other than the advancement of sport for persons with an impairment and democracy, empowerment, equality, and the protection of human rights.”
Speaking after his disqualification, Sadegh reportedly said the flag had no political meaning, but was rather a religious flag in honour of Hazrat Ummul Banin, the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam. The disqualification decision was appealed, but it was unsuccessful.
We also came across these news reports, seen here, here, here and here, which confirmed that Sadegh displayed the flag for Hazrat Ummul Banin and not the ISIS flag.
Conclusion
Iranian para-athlete was stripped of his gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics for displaying a religious flag, not the ISIS flag as claimed
Result: False
Source
Fox Sports report, September 9, 2024
Instagram report, Tasnim News Agency, September 9, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
