MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. The International Fencing Union (FIE) has allowed Russian youth fencers to compete in international tournaments under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem, President of the Russian Fencing Federation (RFF) Ilgar Mamedov told TASS on Tuesday.
"I am very glad that in the run-up to the New Year we received a document from the International Fencing Federation, which confirmed that our young athletes can represent their country with all national markers - the flag and the anthem," Mamedov said.
Earlier in the year, the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international federations allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in youth competitions with national symbols in both individual and team disciplines.
Asked by TASS where and when the young Russian athletes would get a chance to celebrate their wins to the tune of the national anthem, Mamedov said: "As far as I know, our women's foil team is heading to the United Arab Emirates on the night of December 31."
The UAE is hosting a major FIE Junior and Cadet World Cup event in Fujairah on January 2-4.
In March 2024, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international competitions under a neutral status and in line with recommendations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
At its session in January 2023, the IOC Executive Board put forward a proposal to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Athletes from the countries in question should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status.
The FIE followed the IOC’s recommendations and did not issue neutral status permits to Russian fencers representing top Russian sports franchises CSKA and Dinamo.
IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended allowing individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, but only under specific conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.
On October 12, 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice after the Russian organization included the Olympic councils of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions as its members.