Confrontation with world association
Europe’s fencing federation locks out Russia
06/25/2023, 11:29 am
The question of the right to start for athletes from Russia and Belarus in the fencing world is coming to a head. The European Fencing Federation suspends both national federations. He follows the IOC recommendation, but also opposes his own world association.
The European Fencing Federation EFC is on a confrontational course with the World Federation FIE and opposes the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The EFC suspended the federations of Russia and Belarus. The Ukrainian federation had previously tabled two corresponding motions, which were accepted by a narrow majority of the 43 national federations voting.
The first decision, taken in Kraków on the fringes of the European Games, means that “no athletes, coaches or officials who have Russian or Belarusian citizenship and license may participate in competitions organized by the EFC”. After acceptance of the second application, the membership of the Russian Fencing Federation (RUS) and the Belarusian Fencing Federation (BLR) in the EFC will be suspended. In competitions under the umbrella of the FIE, however, fencers from Russia and Belarus may continue to compete as neutral athletes.
At the European Games, Russians and Belarusians were banned from entering Poland because of the war of aggression against Ukraine. By decree, the FIE therefore ordered the holding of individual European championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with only two weeks’ notice. These took place last weekend and were important for qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The European Team Championships will be held in Kraków from Sunday to Thursday.
In practice, the Russians play no role in fencing at the moment. “As much as the FIE’s decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to participate again was criticized at first, the regulation and examination of the military affiliation of Russian and Belarusian athletes has now been implemented just as strictly,” says Tobias Kirch, the new sports director of the German Fencers a week and a half ago. “It has to be said that the majority of the top Russian athletes are not eligible to compete.”