Photo credit: mos.ru (CC BY 4.0)
The Russian and Belarusian fencing federations remained part of the European Fencing Confederation (EFC), TASS reports. The organization did not support the proposal to suspend their membership. This idea was put forward by the federations of some European countries. This list includes Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
At the EFC congress, the majority of its participants opposed the initiative.
According to the President of the Russian Fencing Federation (RFF) Ilgar Mammadov, this decision testifies to the victory of common sense. Only 13 countries out of 42 voted in favor. ''This is a success, small, but a success,'' the head of the RFF is sure. He is sure that athletes should solve sports issues and not engage in politics.
Earlier, the International Olympic Committee suggested that sports federations refuse to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international tournaments. Russia called this approach a violation of the Olympic Charter, the spirit of the Olympic movement and the principle of equality.
Russkiy Mir
