The judge who officiated the bout did not issue a "black card" to the Ukrainian, and the disqualification arose after "behind-the-scenes games".
This was stated by the President of the Ukrainian Fencing Federation, Mykhailo Iliashov, in a telethon broadcast.
“We fully support Harlan. Right now, we are preparing a protest. We will appeal this decision because the judge who officiated the bout did not issue a ‘black card’ and did not disqualify her. It was only later that these ‘behind-the-scenes games’ started, and this disqualification appeared after her next opponent was determined”, he said.
He expressed hope that the appeal hearing would take place within days. However, as Iliashov noted, the possibility of Harlan’s return to the competition is no longer on the table.
“In this case, we will seek the cancellation of this ‘black card’ because it will entail her inability to participate in the team competitions that will take place in Milan in a few days. And it is important for us that our team competes”, he added.
As we reported, Ukrainian sabre fencer Olha Kharlan was disqualified from the World Fencing Championship after a bout with Russian fencer Anna Smirnova. The tournament organizers disqualified the Ukrainian athlete because she did not shake hands with her opponent from the aggressor country after the completion of the preliminary round.
Photo: Getty images
