German fencing is also reacting
Poles cancel World Cup because Russians have the right to start
04/05/2023, 11:08 p.m
The Polish Fencing Federation cancels a World Cup event due to the possible participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus. “It can’t go on like this,” complains Giorgio Scarso, President of the European Fencing Federation EFC.
In protest against the re-admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus, the Polish Fencing Association has decided not to hold the World Cup tournament in Poznań planned for April. The competition in women’s foil was also part of qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. “We cannot hold the tournament under the conditions set by the world association,” said association vice-president Adam Konopka of the French news agency AFP.
The world association FIE had decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes again from April and thus for the Olympic qualification. Later, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also issued a general recommendation to allow athletes from the two countries to participate in international competitions again under certain conditions. A recommendation that splits the sports world and its associations into two large camps. In addition to plenty of outrage, there was also some great approval.
Before Poland, Germany and France had already decided not to host World Cup tournaments. The French federation returned the Epee World Cup in Saint-Maur-des-Fosses (May 19-21). The German Fencing Federation (DFeB) decided in mid-March not to hold the women’s foil world cup in Tauberbischofsheim in May. “It can’t go on like this,” said Giorgio Scarso, President of the European Fencing Federation EFC: “It raises questions when associations like Germany, France and Poland, which have written the history of fencing, cancel competitions.”