Another country refused to host a tournament that allowed Russians and Belarusians

The Finnish Fencing and Pentathlon Federation (SM5L) has announced its refusal to hold the Kupittaa Tournament due to the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes. Thus, Russia's northern neighbours decided to protest against the decision of the International Fencing Federation (FIE).

This is stated in a statement on the SM5L official website. The text emphasises that the Finns condemn the decision of the FIE and fully support Ukraine, which is suffering from the aggression of the Russian Federation.

"SM5L condemns this decision and believes that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to return to international competitions only when the illegal and brutal aggressive war of the Russian Federation in Ukraine ends. As SM5L could not prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the competition under the circumstances, we had no choice but to cancel the tournament. The association is exploring the possibility of organising competitions without the status of "satellite" and is negotiating with Sweden and Norway to hold the traditional Nordic Challenge series this year," the organisation stressed.

Finland thus joined Germany, whose fencing federation refused to host the World Cup because of Russia.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the FIE has banned Ukrainian symbols from the Grand Prix in South Korea, forbidding support for our country. And the first vice-president of the Russian Fencing Federation (RFF), Oleg Lavrychev, visited the occupied territory of Ukraine once again and posed with the aggression symbol "Z" together with the Russian military.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!