Overview

• Azu wore the headband during the 100m rounds in Tokyo, triggering a formal reminder from World Athletics about its ban on political, religious or personal messages.
• World Athletics said it has raised the matter with UK Athletics and flagged potential consequences if the headband appears again.
• UK Athletics has not publicly said whether it will tell Azu to remove the item for the men’s 4x100m relay.
• Azu, who has spoken openly about his Christian faith, finished fourth in the 100m semi-finals in 10.05 seconds and did not reach the final.
• The case revives debate over uneven precedent, with Neymar having worn the same slogan without IOC sanction in 2016 and other athletes penalized for message-based displays.