Ukraine is preparing an appeal against the decision of the International Fencing Federation to disqualify Olga Harlan from the World Championships in Milan.
This was announced by Mykhail0 Ilyashev, President of the Ukrainian Fencing Federation, on the air of the telethon.
Harlan defeated Anna Smirnova, a “neutral” Russian, in the first round of the sabre competition. After the victory, she refused to shake hands with her opponent, offering to congratulate her with a weapon, but the Russian did not want to.
For more than 50 minutes, the Russian hoped that the judges would declare a technical defeat for the Ukrainian and that she would advance to the next round, but the judges rejected her protest. However, it later became known that the Ukrainian was not allowed to take part in the next fight against Bulgarian Joana Ilieva. In the competition protocol, she was marked as an exception.
The FIE rules define “exclusion” as disqualification and a 60-day suspension from all further competitions. This means that she can miss the team tournament, where there are no Russians or Belarusians.
– We fully support Olga Harlan in this situation. I am currently at the World Championships, we are preparing a protest, we will appeal this decision. After all, the referee who worked directly on this match did not give a black card or disqualify her. It was only later that the ‘undercover games’ began. This disqualification appeared after the next opponent (Harlan – Ed.) was determined, and a judge was even appointed for the next fight,” Ilyashev said.
He explained that it was no longer a question of returning Harlan to individual competitions. The Ukrainian side will try to appeal against her black card, which entails the impossibility of her competing in the team competition to be held in Milan in a few days.
Ukrainian fencer Harlan was urged to continue competing at the World Fencing Championships by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
He noted that Smirnova lost in a fair competition and decided to play dirty with the handshake. The minister stressed that this is exactly how the Russian army acts on the battlefield.
— Ольга Харлан перемогла в чесному змаганні та гідно показала себе. Я закликаю FIE відновити права Харлан і дозволити їй змагатися, — написав Кулеба.
The day before, the Ministry of Sports of Ukraine allowed Ukrainian athletes to participate in competitions where Russian or Belarusian athletes are competing, but in a neutral status.
Fakty ICTV recently wrote that fencing has one of the strictest rules regarding handshakes among rivals. In most sports, although it is in the rules, it does not lead to disqualification.