St. PETERSBURG, Aug 3, Dmitry Edigarev. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine can appeal to anyone about the disqualification of the Russian saber fencer Anna Smirnova, we should not pay attention to this, said Pavel Kolobkov, the former Minister of Sports of Russia, in an interview with.
On Thursday, the Committee on Youth and Sports of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a draft appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Fencing Federation (FIE) with a call to disqualify Russian saber fencer Anna Smirnova for life.
“Let the Ukrainians turn to the Pope of Rome at least. This situation has turned into an absurdity, it is not worth discussing. Let the Verkhovna Rada continue to have fun. The International Fencing Federation has already humiliated itself enough. lead to consequences. The right decision was made there, which corresponded to the letter of the rules. And then there was a compromise, which brought it to the current situation. In this situation, it is better for us not to pay attention,» Kolobkov said.
Earlier, the FIE disqualified Harlan at the World Championships because the athlete did not shake hands with Smirnova after winning the 1/32 finals. According to the FIE rules, the fight is considered incomplete without a handshake. Later, the Ukrainian athlete was admitted to the saber team tournament, and the IOC, as an exception, granted her a license to participate in the 2024 Games. As La Repubblica reported, Harlan had the right not to shake hands with Smirnova, as the tournament has a protocol to combat coronavirus.