The German Fencing Federation (DFB) protested on the refusal to host the stage of the Women's Foil World Cup in their country. All because of disagreement with the decision to allow Russian athletes to participate in international competitions. This will hit first of all the German fencers, for whom the path to the Olympics will become more difficult.
How they explained their act in GermanyThe behavior of the Germans is a kindergarten. They revolted because of the position of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), which at the congress on March 10 decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in starts under its auspices. Moreover, the vote showed a real picture, where 89 countries were in favor of the return and only 46 were against it. And we have been told for so long that the whole world of sports is against the admission of Russia. In fact, everything turned out to be completely different.
However, it would be naive to think that this is where the story ends. Some of those who voted no quickly began to take steps to disrupt international tournaments. In Poland, they hinted that they would not give visas and would not let Russians and Belarusians into the country for the World Cup stage. The Poles were followed by the Germans, who officially announced that they were refusing to hold the World Cup because of the participation of Russia.
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“The decision of Congress to once again allow the participation of Russia and Belarus caused heated discussions both within the country and abroad. The World Cup stage would be one of the first where this solution would have to be implemented. It is now unthinkable for the DFB Presidium to make such a decision. Now we want to give a clear signal that we would like a different result and that we still see a large number of open questions on the implementation of the FIE decision, which makes the tournament impossible,” said DFB President Claudia Bokel, whose words are quoted by the official website of the organization .
They hit their own Bokel also noted that she does not yet know how her athletes will conduct the Olympic qualification. That is, she first of all thought about some political aspects, but completely forgot about the most important thing and about what, in fact, she receives a salary. The head of the DFB simply did not give a damn about the prospects of German fencers, for whom participation in the Olympic Games is a matter of a lifetime. I would love to know what they think about this. If, of course, they are given the floor.
In any case, the FIE will be able to find a replacement for the World Cup in Germany, which was scheduled for May. Still, there are at least 89 countries that voted for the return of Russia. In general, it would be chic to hold a tournament with us and would be a bright finale of all senseless sanctions. Nevertheless, the transfer to another country, more friendly towards Russia, seems more realistic. The head of the Russian Fencing Federation, Ilgar Mammadov, agreed with this.
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“So the Germans are not capable of holding such competitions. There are probably other countries that will not be able to. Tournaments should be hosted by those who are able to organize them for everyone. There are many such countries: for example, in Africa, or the former Soviet republics. With regard to this particular stage, there is no decision yet. As far as I understand, the international federation is negotiating with the national federations on this matter,» Mammadov told Sport.
In the meantime, boxing is now hosting the Women's World Championship, where Russia performs with the flag and anthem. And this is despite the fact that there, too, a number of countries boycotted the tournament. But the leadership of the federation did not pay attention to this and hold the world championship. Everything goes to the fact that fencing will follow the same scenario. And let the Germans and Poles continue to refuse the World Cups.