Hidayat Geydarov punished for social media posts

Azerbaijani judoka and Olympic champion Hidayat Heydarov has been punished after failing to make weight at two competitions, as well as for a social media post.

As Oxu.Az reports, this was announced by Rashad Rasullu, Executive Vice President of the Azerbaijan Judo Federation (AJF), at a press conference dedicated to preparations for the World Judo Championship.

He noted that a disciplinary measure was applied against Hidayat Heydarov for certain posts he made on social media.

"This is an internal matter of the federation, and the nature of the punishment will not be disclosed. Discipline is very important to us," he said.

R. Rasullu also commented on the fact that H. Heydarov was not allowed to compete in two tournaments due to failing to make weight.

"Our rules are the same for everyone. Disciplinary measures are in place for every violation — monetary fines, suspension from training, or from the preparation process. Mitigating circumstances are taken into account. If an athlete acknowledges their mistake, that is also considered. Discipline is of fundamental importance to us. We identified the reason why Hidayat was unable to make weight, and we are working together with him to resolve this issue. In both cases, Hidayat Heydarov was punished, but we do not wish to disclose the details. At the same time, the harshest punishment was perhaps the one he imposed on himself. We have no doubt that Hidayat will become a two-time Olympic champion," Rasullu said.

It should be noted that the World Judo Championship will take place from October 4–11 at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku.