Of course it doesn't fit the Western media narrative so he's been pariahed as being "unsportsmanlike", but the indefatigable Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad hasn't wavered in his courageous campaign to ensure rules are enforced for everyone.http://paris-meeting-areva.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=1021&do=news&news_id=433669
"What I do regret is the judges did not make their work," Mekhissi-Benabbad said through a translator. "There are rules, we have to follow the rules. I've been disqualified in Zurich because of the rules. Here, the judges did not make their work. I am upset for Ezekiel, that is true. But he made a mistake, mistakes. That's the only thing I can say."
"First of all, again, there are rules," he continued. "If it would have been on the other side, I know that Kenya would have made a call against me and disqualify me. It's an honest way for the meet. I just want to take an example: if someone is simulating a football player, simulating on a football surface and he gets a penalty against the other team, this guy sometimes people say he made a good thing. This is what is bizarre with the rules in sport. There are rules, we have to follow the rules and not cheat.
"I'll just add that Maradona hit a goal with his hand and he is an idol in Argentina. He cheated. I did not cheat. This is what I have to say about this."