Another country refused to host the World Cup, where Russia and Belarus were allowed

The Polish Fencing Union (PZS) has refused to host the Women's Foil World Cup, which was scheduled for April 23 in Poznan. The organisation expressed its support for the Ukrainian people after the International Fencing Federation (FIE) unexpectedly changed the conditions for the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to the tournament.

This is stated on the official website of the PZS. The union stressed that the new rules for competitors deprived the Polish organisers of a mechanism to control the suspension from the competition of athletes who support the war in Ukraine and are fans of Vladimir Putin's bloody regime.

"This procedure means that Ukrainian fencers will not participate in the qualifying competitions for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and on the other hand, there is a risk that a large number of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports will be admitted. PZS supports the Ukrainian Fencing Federation in its efforts to exclude from the competition people who support the brutal war in Ukraine and approve of the Vladimir Putin regime," the Polish side explained.

Earlier, Germany and Finland had announced a similar boycott, followed by France. In addition, Ukrainian fencers have decided that they will not participate in competitions where representatives of aggressor countries will compete.

It is worth noting that Poland initially agreed to allow Russian and Belarusian fencers to participate in the World Cup if they opposed the war in Ukraine.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Russian fencers expressed outrage over PZS's demands to participate in the Women's World Cup.

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