The International Fencing Federation (FIE) also said it was reinstating Kharlan, allowing her to take part in the team competition at the world championships in Milan.

Emmanuel Katsiadakis, the Greek president of the FIE, said the decision had been taken “after consultation with the International Olympic Committee”.

Kharlan, the first fencer to face a Russian or Belarusian since the former’s invasion of Ukraine, won 15-7 against Russia’s Anna Smirnova on Thursday.

The 32-year-old four-time Olympic medallist refused Smirnova’s handshake afterwards, instead offering her sabre to tap blades, but FIE rules state that the two fencers must shake hands.

Smirnova staged a 45-minute protest and refused to leave the competition strip.

Kharlan was disqualified, claiming afterwards that Emmanuel Katsiadakis, the Greek president of the FIE, had even assured her that it was “possible” not to shake hands and offer a touch of her blade instead following her victory.

“I thought I had his word, to be safe, but apparently, no,” Kharlan said.

In response to her disqualification, the International Olympic Committee called for Ukrainian athletes to be treated “sensitively”.

Then on Friday, IOC President Thomas Bach, a former Olympic fencer himself, sent Kharlan a letter saying she would be guaranteed a place at next year’s Olympics in Paris regardless of whether she gained the qualification points.

  • lasagna@programming.dev
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    11 months ago

    “Smirnova staged a 45-minute protest and refused to leave the competition strip.”

    The Russian fencer is basically a toddler.

    • prodigalsorcerer@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      To be clear, if she is contesting a ruling by the referee, she is not allowed to leave the piste (strip) until the situation is resolved by the head official(s). As soon as she leaves the piste, she gives up all rights to contest a ruling.

      This happened publicly before with Shin A-lam at the 2012 Olympics, where she had to stay on piste for an hour while the officials discussed the ruling.

      • lasagna@programming.dev
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        11 months ago

        So to be clear, she is throwing a tantrum because the Ukrainian contestant didn’t want to shake hands with a citizen of the country that has been killing her people?

        • prodigalsorcerer@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          Yes. I think this is less a tantrum, and more of a “fuck you” from Smirnova to Kharlan, but your interpretation is fine.

          The rules state that the competitors must shake hands at the end of a bout, and that the penalty for refusing to shake hands is a black card. At the beginning of the pandemic, this rule was suspended, and was replaced with saluting and tapping blades. It is not clear whether the handshake rule is back in effect at the international level (which in itself is a huge problem - if athletes can’t look up the rules, it’s hard to follow them).

          As an online observer, these are the facts I was able to gather. At the end of this bout, Kharlan offered her blade for the blade tap, and instead of reciprocating, Smirnova offered her hand for a handshake. Kharlan then left the piste without tapping blades or shaking hands, and Smirnova launched her complaint which (per the rules) required her to remain on piste until the issue was resolved. The officials decided the complaint was legitimate, and black carded Kharlan.

          All that follows is my own speculation. Kharlan offered the blade tap but was refused. Depending on whether the handshake rule is officially reinstated (and it seems that many athletes at this particular competition were just tapping blades without a handshake) she may have been able to lodge her own complaint that Smirnova was unwilling to tap blades. They could have just had an old fashioned stand-off, with one fencer extending their blade for the tap and the other extending their hand for the handshake, neither willing to compromise, and it would (probably) have resulted in the referee clarifying the rules without penalty to either fencer. But because Kharlan left the piste without tapping blades and without shaking hands, it left an opening for Smirnova to exploit.

          I do wish that the FIE would go on record saying whether the handshake rule is fully back in effect. I’m actually a fan of tapping blades, because too many fencers show up to tournaments sick, and shaking hands with everyone is a good way to spread disease. Even beyond that, people often have very sweaty hands, and it’s just kinda gross.

    • xuxebiko@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      I’m surprised she didn’t declare that Kharlan’s medals belong to Russia.

      • Splitdipless@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        I’m surprised Russia isn’t complaining that Ukraine, which they believe should be part of Russia, isn’t arguing Ukraine isn’t a country and shouldn’t compete.

    • Kata1yst@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      Oh I dunno, let’s have your country invaded, your children slaughtered in their schools, your women and children raped, your prisoners of war tortured and executed, your monuments and cultural touchstones destroyed, your homes and apartments bombed indiscriminately until several of your cities are completely flattened.

      Then let’s have you compete with a person who is representing the invaders. Wearing their flag, singing their anthem. And then you’re expected to shake their hand?

      We’ll see if you can’t sympathize then.

      • LarkinDePark
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        11 months ago

        The US, the UK, most of western Europe have done far worse to countries across the globe and presumably they have their hands shaken all the time at these events. This girl is not responsible for America’s latest war.

        • Karma_Police@lemmy.pt
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          11 months ago

          Maybe if they get their hands shaken all the time at these events, it means they haven’t done “far worse”…

          • LarkinDePark
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            11 months ago

            How many innocent people do you think the US has killed in the past 20 years? Just take a guess, in millions, obviously.

            • Kata1yst@kbin.social
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              11 months ago

              Far more than it should be.

              Why does this matter to the issue at hand? The issue here is with Russia and Ukraine. Why are you mudding the waters with a new topic? USA bad doesn’t mean people can’t think Russia bad.

              • LarkinDePark
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                11 months ago

                I was asking the guy who thought that the west hadn’t done far worse.

        • Kata1yst@kbin.social
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          11 months ago

          Oh, because someone did something worse, that makes this okay? Grow up, or go tilt at windmills.

          Tu Quoque.

          • Addfwyn@lemmy.ml
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            11 months ago

            Their point is the double standard. Either apply it consistently or not at all. If athletes are representing their country in all aspects when competing internationally, all athletes should be held to that standard.

            If an athlete refused to shake a USian athletes hand because of the war crimes of their country, including ones ongoing at this very moment, you would be on board with it then? There would be precious few handshakes that could be given out on international sporting stages, that is for sure.

            • Kata1yst@kbin.social
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              11 months ago

              No one asked me. No double standard here my friend. I call a military industrial complex what it is AND manage to see the Russian genocide of Ukraine for what IT is.

              If you’ve got problems with your opponent tapping a sabre instead of a handshake for the opponent’s press to run through the disinformation mill is more then sufficient.

      • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
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        11 months ago

        This attitude to a greater extent is what lead to Japanese American children being thrown in concentration camps.

        • Kata1yst@kbin.social
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          11 months ago

          This is a shaken hand when someone is representing a country, not a child trying to live their life free. You’ve built a wonderful strawman.

          • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
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            11 months ago

            Do you think athletes literally represent their countries as avatars or something? Representing your country in an athletic competition does not mean agreeing with everything your country does, or even with most things your country does. Look at all the US black athletes in the 1936 Olympics.

            • Kata1yst@kbin.social
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              11 months ago

              In the Olympics, do we not say what “country” won the medals, fly their flag, play their anthem? It’s not my narrative, but the one the Olympics has written.

              • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
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                11 months ago

                Okay and if someone shot her at the competition would they be shooting her, or Russia? Her, obviously. Yours is a silly line of argumentation steeped in national symbolism.

                • Kata1yst@kbin.social
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                  11 months ago

                  You’re attacking me instead of my point. Until you address it I have nothing more to say.

    • Addfwyn@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      Basically yes.

      The generous interpretation is that she was confused by the rules, as during the pandemic there was a suspension of handshakes in competition. I feel that could have been quickly resolved with an apology and a belated handshake though.

  • Landrin201@lemmy.ml
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    11 months ago

    Why should she be treated any differently than other athletes? She deliberately broke the rules, got a punishment, threw a fit overthe punishment, and now is getting a special place in the Olympics despite not qualifying for them? That seems kinda ridiculius IMO.

    • DauntingFlamingo@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      Being forced to shake hands with the representation of the people committing war crimes against your family and nation is an awful standard.

      “Okay, we know he raped you, but it’s been 17 months. Just get over it and shake his hand.”

      • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
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        11 months ago

        It is really insensitive and anti-feminist to make rape comparisons because you can’t find less charged rhetoric to use. Most women experience sexual violence and something like 1/6 of of all women have ptsd on that account, it is very inconsiderate.

        • grue@lemmy.ml
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          11 months ago

          Considering how many Ukranian women and children are being literally raped by the Russian invaders, I’d say the comparison is plenty apt!

          Your concern trolling is the thing that’s insensitive and inconsiderate.

          • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
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            11 months ago

            And that has to do with this one woman competitor how? Did she sign off on the invasion?

            No?

            Then don’t compare her being there to a rapist.