Ukrainian sabre fencer disqualified from world championship for refusing to shake hands with Russian fencer

According to the FIE rules, "refusal of a fencer to greet the opponent, referee and spectators before the start of the bout or after the last blow" can lead to disqualification, which is what happened: a Ukrainian sabre fencer was disqualified from the World Championship after refusing to shake hands with a Russian woman.

It is reported that the Russian refused to leave the track and waited almost an hour for the Ukrainian to return to shake her hand. And then she complained to the judges about "disrespect from the opponent".

The FIE counted the Ukrainian fencer a technical defeat in the next round of the competition. Her fight with Bulgarian Ilieva did not take place.

This is reported by the official website of the competition.

Opposite the name of Kharlan in the list of participants of the competitions on the web portal of the World Championship-2023, there appeared a marking exclusion - exclusion.

The FIE did not officially inform why Harlan was disqualified.

The disqualification has not been and will not be cancelled," the president of the Ukrainian Fencing Federation said.

We are preparing a protest and will appeal. But there can be no talk about her being returned to these competitions," Suspilne quoted him as saying.

Almost immediately after the information about Harlan's disqualification appeared, photos of Smirnova with her brother - a serviceman of the Russian Federation, who, quite possibly, is now fighting in Ukraine, appeared in the network.

We shall remind you that the competition took place a few hours after the Ukrainian government changed its policy and allowed its athletes to compete in the Olympic selection against individual athletes from Russia and Belarus competing under a neutral flag.

Under the previous policy, adopted on 31 March, Ukrainian athletes were advised not to compete against Russians and Belarusians in any capacity.