The leaders of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) and the organizers of the World Championships-2023 went against the procedure by changing the decision of the referee of the fight between Olha Kharlan and Russian Anna Smirnova. The referee did not show the Ukrainian a red card for refusing to shake hands with her opponent, but the FIE officials made a sole decision to disqualify our compatriot.

Kharlan spoke about it in an interview with the Italian Pianeta Scherma. The Olympic champion of the Games in Beijing-2008 noted that she was already preparing for a new fight after the victory over Smirnova when she was informed about the so-called black card (disqualification from the tournament - ed.).

"The one thing I didn't want to do was shake her hand, and I knew I had that chance. I offered to salute her with my blade, but she didn't want to, and the referee along with someone from tournament management told me to leave. I had already warmed up for the next match and was at the weapons check in the meeting room when someone came up to me and said they needed to talk to me. The tournament director and the referee were there and they told me, 'You're going to get a black card.' It wasn't a referee's decision, it didn't happen during the fight. The referee was very upset. It's very cruel towards him, it's very cruel towards everybody. The system, this federation, kills everyone, even the referees," Olha stated.

To remind, Kharnal refused to greet Smirnova after her victory in the 1/32 final of the World Cup 2023 after which the Russian went crazy by refusing to leave the lane. She filed a protest against the result of the duel, which was rejected. At the same time, the representative of the Russian Federation does not meet the criteria of a neutral athlete, openly supporting the Russian Armed Forces.

Fencing Federation of Ukraine (FFU) stood up for Harlan and is preparing to appeal against her disqualification. Our saber fencer herself noted that she was simply shocked by the decision to exclude her from the tournament. She also said that she will not participate in the team tournament.

In turn, Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matitsyn said Kharlan had crossed all boundaries by refusing to welcome a rival from an aggressor country. The president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of showing "sensitivity and delicacy" to the Ukrainian.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, people's deputy and Olympic wrestling champion Zhan Beleniuk said that initially there was an agreement between Kharlan and the International Fencing Federation (FIE), which implied a refusal to shake hands with the Russian. Later, the head coach of the Ukrainian national fencing team Natalia Konrad shared what really happened to Harlan.

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