At the World Fencing Championship, the pride of Ukraine, Olha Kharlan, demonstrated a principled patriotic stance, due to which she lost the opportunity to compete for victory at the tournament.
After a spectacular victory over the russian Anna Smirnova, who performed as a representative of some imaginary country, Olha refused to shake her opponent's hand. The hand of opponent who actually represented the aggressor country that came to our land and kills Ukrainians.
The International Fencing Federation disqualified our sportswoman, which caused a storm of anger in Ukraine. Our club immediately supported Olha on social networks, but we want to emphasize once again that Dynamo fully support the Ukrainian sports star Olha Kharlan and her act.
“The behavior of sports officials is shameful and cowardly. Kharlan’s behavior is an example for our athletes of what to do when a representative of russia is near you. This is not just some informational opportunity to remind the world about the war in Ukraine and the atrocities committed by the occupiers – it is another test for the search for truth and justice.
The disqualification of Olha Kharlan shows the double standards that still exist, but the reaction of our society, representatives of the sports community and the authorities gives hope that in the future Ukrainian athletes will be protected from such arbitrariness. I thank Olha personally and on behalf of our entire club for this act and her patriotic stance”, – stated FC Dynamo Kyiv president Ihor Surkis.
