Lebanon, Israel in squabble over bus

RIO DE JANEIRO: Lebanese athletes refused to share a bus with Israeli counterparts to get to the Rio Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, members of both teams said on

RIO DE JANEIRO: Lebanese athletes refused to share a bus with Israeli counterparts to get to the Rio Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, members of both teams said on Saturday.

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Lebanon and Israel are officially at war and have no diplomatic relations. Friday’s incident happened as the Lebanese team sat on the bus waiting to head to the Maracana Stadium. When the Israeli team arrived and attempted to board the bus, the head of the Lebanese team, Salim al-Haj Nicolas, demanded that the door be closed.

“But the Israeli athletes insisted on getting on,” he told AFP.

Organisers then intervened and invited the Israeli athletes to board other buses but they reportedly refused on the grounds of “security and protocol”.