Estonia has been stripped of its right to host the 2026 European Fencing Championships due to its refusal to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate. The International Fencing Federation (FIE) has decided to move the 2026 European Championships from the Estonian capital to France.
According to ERR, citing Aivar Paalberg, secretary general of the Estonian Fencing Union, the decision was made on 14 January, but the Estonian side has only now received official notification.
Estonia was granted the right to host the European Championships back in 2024. However, after last year’s revision of the requirements for athletes from Russia and Belarus to obtain neutral status, the conditions for hosting the championships became unacceptable for the hosts.
Now, the rules for obtaining neutral status have become more lenient for athletes representing the aggressor countries, and this is precisely what the Estonian Fencing Union did not agree with. Tallinn’s position influenced the decision to move the competition.
As Paalberg explained, Belarusian and Russian athletes were initially given the opportunity to participate in individual competitions under neutral status, provided that they had no connection to the armed forces. This requirement was later abolished. Now athletes can have connections to the army, but must declare that they condemn the aggression against Ukraine. However, in practice, it is difficult to monitor compliance with this condition. According to the latest FIE decision, juniors and cadets from the Russian Federation and Belarus have the right to participate in competitions among their peers using national symbols.
As for Estonia, it does not issue visas to athletes from Belarus and Russia.
At the end of last year, Raido Mitt, Deputy Secretary for Sport at the Ministry of Culture, stated that Estonia cannot guarantee that everyone who wants to participate in the championship will be able to do so. The government’s position remains unchanged — athletes from aggressor countries will not receive visas, and there will be no exceptions.
After a three-year hiatus (since 2019) and disqualification imposed in March 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, Russian athletes (along with Belarusian athletes) have once again been admitted to the competition. Last year’s FIE decision allowed them to compete in team championships under a ‘neutral’ flag, effectively lifting previous strict restrictions.
Earlier, it was reported that the International Volleyball Federation announced the reinstatement of the rights of the youth teams of the Russian Federation and Belarus.
