A scandal erupted at the World Fencing Championships in Milan due to the disqualification of the Ukrainian athlete Olga Kharlan. After the victory over the Russian woman Anna Smirnova, who was admitted to the competition in a neutral status, the Ukrainian saber fencer refused to shake hands with her opponent. The organizers of the tournament disqualified the Ukrainian due to the lack of " TSN. ua collected all the details of this scandal. What happened after the fight 32-year-old Ukrainian saber fencer Olga Kharlan successfully started at the World Fencing Championship, defeating Russian Anna Smirnova in the first bout with a score of 15:7. After the duel, the Ukrainian offered to “hit” with sabers instead of shaking hands. However, Smirnova did not respond to this gesture.. Harlan left the lane, but the Russian woman continued to stay on it for more than 50 minutes, waiting for a handshake. After that, she filed a protest due to the lack of " Why was the Ukrainian woman punishedAccording to the regulations of the International Fencing Federation, athletes after the fight must " Failure to make this formal gesture is considered a violation of the rules.. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was enough to touch with a weapon. Recently, the handshake itself has become mandatory again.. Smirnova's protest against the Ukrainian due to the lack of " The Ukrainian team tried to appeal the decision to disqualify Olga, but this was not possible. Designated as Harlan's opponent in the second round, Bulgarian Yoana Ilieva advanced to the next round without a fight.. What threatens HarlanUkrainian saber fencer may receive a long suspension after disqualification. According to the rules of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), a black card provides for disqualification from competitions and suspension for 60 days from all subsequent starts.. Olga also risks missing the team fencing tournament at the 2023 World Championships, where there are no representatives from Russia and Belarus. Ukraine will file an appealPresident of the Ukrainian Fencing Federation Mikhail Ilyashev said he would challenge the decision of the International Fencing Federation (FIE). He noted that the appeal would not be able to return Harlan to competition in the individual championship, but could allow her to get the right to participate in the team fencing tournament at the current world championship, which takes place in Milan.. “The referee, who directly worked on this fight, did not give a“ black card ”, did not disqualify her. It was then that the " We hope that the consideration of the appeal will be completed one of these days,” he said.. Reaction to the scandalThe International Olympic Committee called on sports federations to be sensitive during competitions between Ukrainian athletes and Russians who act as neutrals. " Minister of Youth and Sports Vadim Gutzeit called today's incident an open provocation by a Russian woman against a Ukrainian fencer.

" Yesterday there was a meeting of our federation with members of the international federation and they emphasized that our athletes do not shake hands," Gutzeit stressed that in the International Fencing Federation " " Ukrainian politicians also reacted to the shameful decision of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) by supporting our saber fencer.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the FIE to allow Olga Harlan to continue competing and compared the behavior of Russian saber fencer Smirnova to the " " This is how the Russian army operates on the battlefield," Adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak commented on the decision of the FIE to disqualify Harlan by posting a photo of her Russian rival with her brother, a soldier of the Russian army. In the picture, Smirnova shows the letter V with her fingers - one of the symbols of the invasion of Russian occupiers into Ukraine.. Recall that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has sent an invitation to 203 countries to take part in the 2024 Olympic Games, which will be held in Paris.. Russia and Belarus were not among them.