sports
January 24, 2026
Baltic state forfeits hosting major sporting event over Russophobia
Estonia has lost the right to host the European Fencing Championship after it refused to allow Russian and Belarusian fencers to participate
TL;DR
- Estonia will not host the European Fencing Championship in June.
- The refusal is due to Estonia's stance on not allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes entry.
- The International Fencing Federation (FIE) had simplified rules for 'neutral' athletes to participate.
- Estonia refused to provide written guarantees for the access of all athletes.
- The hosting rights have been transferred to France.
- Estonian officials described the situation as political rather than organizational.
- Russian and Belarusian athletes have faced bans from most international competitions since February 2022.
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