(JTA) — Lebanese Olympians refused to ride on a bus with Israeli athletes to get to the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 summer games. When the Israeli delegation of athletes and coaches tried to board the bus Friday, August 5 to Maracana stadium here, the head of the Lebanese delegation blocked the entrance. Israeli sailing coach Udi Gal first described the incident in a Hebrew Facebook post. “I kept on insisting that we board the bus and said that if the Lebanese did not want to board as well they are welcome to leave,” Gal wrote. “The bus driver opened the door, but this time the head of the Lebanese delegation blocked the aisle and entrance. The organizers wanted to avoid an international and physical incident and sent us away to a different bus.”

The head of the Lebanese delegation, Saleem a-Haj Nacoula, told Lebanese media that the Israelis were “looking for trouble” by insisting on boarding the same bus when they had their own transportation. Nacoula was praised in Lebanon as a hero.

On Sunday, Israel’s Sports and Culture Minister Miri Regev called on the International Olympic Committee to condemn the Lebanese delegation’s alleged actions. “I am incensed by the incident. It is anti-Semitism pure and simple, and the worst kind of racism,” she told Israel Radio.

On Sunday, August 7,the International Olympic Committee (IOC) summoned Nacoula to a hearing where he was reprimanded for his behavior. IOC heads informed the Israeli delegation of the hearing and said they had made it clear that such behavior “would not be tolerated.”

Regev responded by saying, “I welcome the Olympic committee’s treatment of the shameful behavior and antisemitism demonstrated by the Lebanese delegation.”