The sporting achievements of the Swiss U23 team at the European Championships in Estonia are overshadowed by a political action. The fencing federation apologizes in a statement for the "wrong behaviour" of the athletes.
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- The successful team of Swiss epee fencers caused a diplomatic scandal at the U23 European Championships in Tallinn on Saturday.
- At the award ceremony after the final defeat against Israel (34:45), the Swiss quartet - unlike the Israelis and the third-placed Italians - did not turn in the direction of the flags during the national anthem of the winner.
- Presumably Ian Hauri, Théo Brochard, Jonathan Fuhrimann and Sven Vineis wanted to express a political point of view. Israel even received harsh criticism for this from the highest political level.
- The Swiss Fencing Federation has "no understanding for the fact that its team misused the award ceremony for a political manifestation", as stated in a press release. It is not yet clear whether there will be any consequences for the fencers concerned.
The young Swiss fencers put in a strong performance at the U23 European Championships in Tallinn on Saturday. The epee quartet of Ian Hauri, Théo Brochard, Jonathan Fuhrimann and Sven Vineis won silver in the team competition on Saturday behind Israel, with bronze going to Italy.
However, it wasn't the Swiss team's athletic performance that caused a stir afterwards, but their behavior during the medal ceremony. The U23 team demonstratively turned their backs on the Israeli team during the victory ceremony as the winners' anthem was played.
The action caused red faces. The Israeli foreign minister even spoke out on social media: "Shame on the Swiss team for their disrespectful behavior. You don't know how to lose and have behaved in a way that is embarrassing for you and the country you are supposed to represent," Gideon Sa'ar wrote on X.
According to the news portal Ynet (via Watson), Israeli coach Alexander Ivanov is "disappointed" with the Swiss team. He said it was regrettable that "a moment of sporting triumph had become a platform for political hostilities".
Swiss Fencing reacts to scandal
The fencing association commented on the incident on Sunday. It said in a press release that it had no sympathy for the team misusing the award ceremony for a "political manifestation". Nevertheless, it should be noted that the athletes congratulated the Israeli winners after the final in a sporting manner. Swiss Fencing will seek talks with the team after the athletes return and decide on any measures to be taken.
The association regrets that the "wrong behavior of our athletes discredited the sporting success of the Swiss team with three medals at these U23 European Championships" and congratulates the Israeli team on the gold medal.
