Swiss Fencers Refuse to Face Israeli Flag at Award Ceremony

  • Publish date: since a day

During an awards ceremony at the European championship in Estonia, the Swiss youth fencing team refused to face the Israeli flag.

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After the Swiss team lost to the Israeli team in the U-23 Championships in Tallinn on Saturday, April 26, the four fencers refused to face the Israeli flag along with the Israeli and Italian fencers when the winning team's national anthem was playing. 

The fencing team's move was allegedly supposed to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. 

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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar heavily criticised the Swiss team on X on Saturday, saying, "Shame on the Swiss team for their disrespectful behaviour...You don't know how to lose and behave in a manner which is an embarrassment to you and the country you're supposed to represent."

The Swiss Fencing Association released a statement on Sunday emphasizing that it had "no sympathy for the fact that its team misused the award ceremony for a political manifestation". 

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The association also expressed deep regrets over their team's behavior "[hurting] the feelings of the Israeli delegation". They also said, "after the athletes return from Estonia, Swiss Fencing will enter into discussions with the U23 team and then decide on any measures to be taken."

Here is the video of the moment when the U23 Swiss team turned away from the Israeli flag. 

This article was previously published on kuwaitmoments. To see the original article, click here