[citation needed] Arash Miresmaili was the favorite for the gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he was the flag bearer for Iran at the opening ceremonies.

Slated to fight Israeli judoka competitor Ehud Vaks in the first round, Miresmaili was disqualified from competing because he was above the permissible weight limit for his class.

[5] Similarly, Iranian judoka Masoud Haji Akhoundzade pulled out of a bout against Israeli lightweight Zvi Shafran.

[8] Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, the speaker of Iran's parliament, congratulated Miresmaeili, calling his refusal to compete a "brave decision," and saying that "Your disqualification because of supporting Palestine would promote your position in the heart of Muslims.

"[11] On August 18, 2004, the International Judo Federation (IJF), which had set up a commission to investigate whether Miresmaeili deliberately missed weight so he would not have to face Vaks, concluded he had no intention to avoid competing against an Israeli.

[12] In the summer of 2009, before the controversial Iranian presidential elections, Miresmaeili chose to support the candidacy of Mohsen Rezaee, one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rivals.

Since then, the effort to punish and sideline Miresmaeili went as far as denying him entry to an election event of Iran's Judo Federation held on Jan 2, 2009.