European fencing functionaries, together with the International Fencing Federation, have found a “way out” for allowing Russian athletes to compete for tickets to the Olympic Games. For this, a “separate” individual Euro will be held.
First, the European Championship was to be held as part of the European Games. However, due to the consistent position of the Polish organizers, who refused to allow athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus, the functionaries resorted to tournament fraud. Competitions in Krakow were deprived of the status of the European championship in a single grid.
Parallel competitions will be held on June 16-18 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. There, unlike the European Games, fencers will be awarded rating points that affect the distribution of Olympic quotas. Meanwhile, in Poland, only national teams will be able to earn credits.
Formerly International Fencing Federation banned the return of Olympic champions from Russia, linking them to the regime of the aggressor country. The previous decision to return Russians and Belarusians to competitions led to a series of boycotts by European associations.
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