According to the tournament organizers, Amin Tabatabaei did it for fear of being punished by the Iranian authorities upon his return

Iranian chess grandmaster Amin Tabatabaei has refused to face Israeli competitor Netanel Levi, both age 21, at the Sunway International Chess Tournament, which is being held in the city of Sitges, Spain. 

According to the organizers of the tournament, the young champion threw the game for fear of being punished by the Iranian authorities on his return to the country.

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The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects Israel's right to exist and has banned its athletes from competing against Israelis in sports competitions. 

The president of the Berlin Chess Association, Paul Meyer-Dunker, called on Twitter for the International Chess Federation to take preventive measures against the boycott of Israeli players. “How long are you going to tolerate this? Will this hatred of our Israeli colleagues and the oppression of our Iranian colleagues one day have consequences for the Iranian Chess Federation?” he said.

Three years ago, Tabatabaei, under contract with FC Bayern Munich, was banned by the Iranian authorities from participating in two tournaments after playing against an Israeli opponent. Iranian chess player Alireza Firouzja became a French citizen in 2021 after being sanctioned for facing an Israeli in 2019.

Tabatabaei and International Master Aryan Gholami did not show up for scheduled matches against their Israeli opponents at the World Junior Chess Championships held in India in 2019.