Treatment of Ukraine Fencing Athletes in China Sparks Backlash

Ukrainian athletes who competed in a fencing championship in China over the weekend said they were stopped multiple times from posing with an anti-war banner in the latest example of the tension between sport and politics amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

A 40-second video posted to Instagram on Sunday by European fencing champion Vlada Kharkova appeared to show a fracas involving Chinese staff members and members of Ukraine's national fencing team, who were trying to unfurl a banner displaying photographs of Ukrainian athletes killed in the war. The banner is known as the "Angels of Sport."

Kharkova told Newsweek in a written statement that organizers in China's eastern city of Nanjing forbade them from showing the banner and prevented athletes from other countries from showing solidarity on each day of the competition.

"They were simply forbidden to express their opinions publicly," she said.

Kharkova said she and her teammates were still being monitored by Chinese authorities as they prepared to depart Beijing late on Monday. "Security accompanies us everywhere."

The International Fencing Federation, or FIE, earlier in March allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes and other federation members to return to the sport under the International Olympic Committee's neutral framework. IOC President Thomas Bach argued last week that the Olympic ruling body can't referee political disputes.

In the social media clip shared by Kharkova, 26, staff in Nanjing were seen intervening as the fencer attempted to take a picture with the memorial banner. She asked: "Why not?"

In the cellphone video, a staff member was heard repeatedly saying "no," before telling one of his colleagues in Mandarin: "Roll it up."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. It's our job. Please understand," said another Chinese staff member in English while approaching the person filming, who Kharkova identified as one of her teammates.

"Today at World Cup in China we wanted to take a picture with a banner where we showed how many athletes were killed by Russia," Kharkova wrote in her Instagram post, in which she said she and her teammates were stopped by the organizers and the FIE.

"[FIE] you mentioned that politics had no place in sport. Now, let me ask you this: how can sport not be involved when about 343 sport facilities being destroyed and more than 250 athletes will never compete again?" her post said.

"Ruzzia violated all values of Olympism. [FIE] is trying to hide truth through threats, restrictions and keeping us mute, but how is this different from Russian political strategy?" wrote Kharkova.

Kharkova said the incident took place at the competition venue, which shares a building with the athletes' hotel. Competition officials intervened again as they were returning to their room, she said.

"On the last day, we just wanted to take a photo of our team along with a banner, but we weren't just banned, they pulled it out of our hands by force," Kharkova told Newsweek.

The FIE didn't return an email from Newsweek seeking comment before publication.

On Instagram, users including Chinese commenters expressed sympathy for the Ukrainian fencers and criticized China and the FIE.

"I support you," one wrote in Chinese. "I'm very sorry to see such an incident happen in this country."

"As a Nanjing native, I'm ashamed of my city. My apologies to you! I support Ukraine," another said in a message in Chinese that included emojis of the Ukrainian flag.

A third added in Chinese: "As a Chinese person, I say sorry to you on my own behalf. I also don't understand my government."

Kharkova's video also was widely seen on the r/Ukraine subreddit, where it had over 25,000 upvotes at the time of writing.

"I am incredibly glad to read the comments and hear the opinion of the Chinese people. This makes it possible to understand the real attitude of people to the situation," said Kharkova.

Nanjing hosted the women's epee world cup with the individual contest concluding Saturday and the team final ending Sunday. Hungary's Anna Kun, 37, won gold in the women's individual epee, while France claimed the team prize.

Kharkova, a right-handed epee fencer who won last year's individual European final in Turkey, was one of five Ukrainian athletes competing in China.

The IOC has condemned the invasion of Ukraine and restricted Russia and Belarus from taking part in international competitions. In January, however, the governing body recommended a pathway for the readmission of individual athletes from both countries under its neutrality framework, which prohibits the use of their flags, anthems or other national symbols.

Earlier this month, fencing became the first Olympic sport to reverse the year-long exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes following an FIE vote, which made possible their qualification for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

Ukraine's fencing federation opposed the decision and last week said its athletes, coaches and judges would boycott tournaments at all levels in which Russian and Belarusian fencers were allowed to compete.

Russian and Belarusian fencers didn't take part in the championship in Nanjing.

"We consider this decision shocking and unacceptable," the Ukrainian federation said in a corresponding Instagram post. "We call on the international fencing community to support Ukraine and not compete against Russia!"

Kharkova said she and her teammates disagreed with the FIE's decision and wanted to show it "through a peaceful action." Apart from the banner, the fencers also carried stickers on their masks expressing the same sentiment.

"On the first day of the competition, we distributed these stickers among athletes and coaches from different countries. Many people wanted to support us. But, on the next day of the competition, representatives of the FIE, without explanation and in order, tore off the stickers from the masks of our athletes and athletes from other countries," she said.

"There was a similar situation with the banner," Kharkova said. "It stood for no more than a minute. At the request of the guards, we immediately rolled it up, although there was nothing bad there, just the truth about what the aggressor is doing in our country."

Kyiv's decision to boycott fencing competitions could impact its athletes' Olympic prospects in unpredictable ways as qualifying begins in April and runs through March 2024.

"I hope we won't have to do that. We are waiting for the decision of the International Olympic Committee," said Kharkova, in reference to Ukraine's appeal for the IOC to extend its sporting ban to the Paris Games.

Olena Shevchuk, the Ukrainian fencing body's secretary general, told Newsweek in a written statement on Tuesday that the federation "understands the sincere desire of Ukrainian athletes to reach out to the world community and remind of the terrible consequences suffered by Ukrainian sports as a result of the war unleashed by Russian Federation and supported by Belarus."

"The Ukrainian fencing federation cannot understand the reaction of the organizers towards Ukrainian athletes physically prohibiting them to do so," said Shevchuk.

"We must be politically neutral but not apolitical," the IOC's Bach said at the Ruhr Political Festival in Germany last Wednesday. "But we should not make the mistake to raise ourselves to referees of political disputes because we will be crushed by these political powers."

"We feel, suffer with and understand the Ukrainian people and athletes. On the other hand, we have, as a global organization, a responsibility towards human rights and the Olympic Charter," Bach said of the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes. "Both do not allow such a total isolation of people with a specific passport."

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Update 03/27/23, 1:15 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from Vlada Kharkova.

Update 03/28/23, 7:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from Ukraine's fencing federation.