International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) has barred Turkish wrestler Rıza Kayaalp from attending tournaments for a period of six months due to his racist tweets and insults on Gezi Resistance protestors in Turkey. “We will not have our kid wasted,” Turkey’s Wrestling Federation said, Bianet.org reports.
During Turkey’s Gezi Resistance, Kayaalp sent several aggressive tweets including “You left the ground to Armenians, God punish you damn chapulliers”, “Armenian people are celebrating that they have occupied Taksim Square and insulted Turkey easily”.
Many complaints have reportedly been filed regarding Kayaalp to FILA, as well as International Olympics Council (IOC).
According to Habertürk newspaper, FILA found Kayaalp’s remarks racist three weeks ago, barring him from attending tournaments for a period of six months.
On the other hand, Kayaalp has recently been chosen as the flag holder athlete for Turkey in the opening ceremony of Mediterranean Games – an international olympic event that has been hosted by Turkey this year.
