An image of Iranian Paralympian Sadegh Beit Sayah is being shared on the internet to claim that he was disqualified from the competition after he displayed the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
What are users saying?: Mr Sinha, an X (formerly Twitter) premium user, shared the image with a caption that said, "He's Iranian Athlete Beit Sayah Sadegh. After winning the gold in #Paralympics2024, he openly displayed the ISIS flag. Disqualified...! Imagine displaying the ISIS flag openly and getting away with a mere disqualification. He should have been treated like a terr0rist..."
The user has been fact-checked several times in the past.
How did we find that out?: On closely examining the viral image, we found that the flag displayed in it did not resemble the ISIS flag.
To make it clearer, we compared the viral image to the ISIS flag and came to a conclusion that both of them are different.
News reports on Sayah's disqualification: A report published in news.com.au said that the Iranian athlete was stripped of his gold medal after he displayed a banned flag.
It mentioned that he received two yellow cards during the event.
The first yellow card was given after he was seen running a finger across his neck while celebrating.
The second one was issued after he unfurled the flag of Hazrat Umm al-Banin - a black flag with red writing on it.
The report said that the flag breached the regulations of the International Paralymic Committee (IPC).
According to the official Paralympic website, Sayah was disqualified after being given two yellow cards. He was found to be showing unsporting or improper conduct.
Statement from Iranian national track and field team's head: BBC News published a video on their official X handle, which showed Ali Asghar Hadizadeh talking about Sayah's disqualification.
Hadizadeh said that when athletes break records, they usually cross their hands in front of their necks. He said that Sayah's movement was differently interpreted.
The team head further said, "Because of his love and devotion to Ms. M. Al-Banin, Beitsyah suddenly took the flag out of the sports bag and showed the flag, and thus received the second yellow card and was eliminated from the tournament."
What about the flag seen in viral video?: Team WebQoof performed a keyword search on Google and found visuals of the similar flag, which was seen in the viral image.
Conclusion: Evidently, the Iranian athlete did not display the ISIS flag as claimed in viral social media posts.
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