The European federation EFC said on its website that it was informed of the decision of the FIE executive committee by its interim president Emanuel Katsiadakis on Wednesday. The EFC said it regretted the FIE’s decision, but agreed to hold the tournament so that European fencers could earn points towards Olympic qualification.
Due to the Russian attack on Ukraine with the support of Belarus, the Fencing EC became a political matter. The FIE, which is under strong Russian influence, was one of the first sports federations to decide in March of this year, even before the International Olympic Committee’s instruction, on the return of Russian and Belarusian fencers to competitions. One of the main reasons for returning was the possibility of gaining points for Olympic qualification.
The European Championship was originally supposed to be held as part of the European Games in Krakow at the turn of June and July. Due to Poland’s rejection of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, the European Fencing Championship was reduced to only a team championship, which will be able to earn points for Olympic qualification.
At the end of March, the International Olympic Committee recommended to the international federations to allow the athletes of Russia and Belarus to return to competitions, subject to the conditions of strict neutrality. Teams from these countries are not allowed to start at international events.