Ukraine Appeals Against Disqualification of Top Fencer Kharlan from World Championships

The Ukrainian Fencing Federation demands the reinstatement of multiple World Champion Olha Kharlan, who was disqualified from the World Championship in Milan following accusations by the Russian side of "showing disrespect."

This was reported by The Guardian. 

Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan, who achieved victory over the Russian opponent (15:7), refused to shake hands with the representative of the Russian Federation but offered a "salute" instead, tapping swords. The Russian athlete declined and staged a protest on the piste for about 50 minutes, citing "disrespect." Subsequently, Olha Kharlan was disqualified by the organizing committee of the World Championship.

The President of the Ukrainian Fencing Federation, Mykhailo Iliashev, announced during a national telethon that the Ukrainian Fencing Federation will challenge the decision to disqualify Olha Harlan from the World Championship in Milan.

"We fully support Olha Kharlan in this situation. I am currently at the World Championship, and we are preparing a protest. We will appeal this decision because the referee who officiated the bout did not issue a black card or disqualify her," said Iliashev.

At the same time, the Ukrainian side emphasized that the protocol for greeting athletes after the competition was discussed during a meeting between the International Fencing Federation and the Ukrainian Fencing Federation the day before.

"There was a meeting of the federation [of Ukrainian fencing] – the president, the head coach – with the members of the International Federation. They also emphasized that our athletes would not shake hands; they would exchange 'salutes,' congratulate, and leave the piste. What we saw was a provocation by an athlete competing under a neutral flag. We saw that she deliberately provoked Olha Kharlan," stated Vadym Gutzeit during a press conference.

Olha Kharlan responded to the incident by posting a video on her Instagram page.

"The country that terrorizes our country, our people, also terrorizes sports. You can never force anyone to make peace. Especially Ukrainians. No handshakes... And I think, like everyone else in this world, in the civilized world, I understand that the rules must change. Because the world is changing," said the Ukrainian athlete.

The head coach of the Ukrainian national fencing team, Natalia Konrad, informed that previously, the rules at the Championship allowed athletes to greet each other with a "salute." However, on July 26, an emergency meeting of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) was held, during which this rule was revoked. Nevertheless, there was no official announcement regarding the rule change.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) called on sports federations to be sensitive regarding matches between Ukrainian and Russian "neutral" athletes and expressed full "support and solidarity" with Ukrainian athletes.