Must politics stay separate from sport? Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan has been disqualified from the World Fencing Championships in Milan after declining to shake hands with her Russian opponent having won the match yesterday. As it concluded, both athletes removed their masks and Anna Smirnova (who competed under a neutral flag) extended her hand. Kharlan responded by presenting her sword as if suggesting they touch sabres instead. Smirnova did not react.

Kharlan left the stage. Smirnova stood there for almost an hour, waiting for a handshake. Afterwards, Smirnova filed a complaint for lack of ‘show of respect’. The Ukrainian fencer was disqualified from the competition and suspended for 60 days from all further tournaments.

‘No one can ever be forced into peace…by any handshake,’ Kharlan said after the tournament. ‘We know that the country that terrorises our state, our people, our families, also terrorises sport.’

Her stance is common for Ukrainian athletes since last year’s full-scale invasion and was well supported at home: shaking hands with Russians literally damages your reputation in Ukraine. Yes, some Russians oppose Vladimir Putin’s regime and the war – but Smirnova does not appear to be one of them. After the row, social media was awash with photos of her wearing a Russian military hat and hugging a soldier, believed to be her brother.

Ukrainian officials called for a boycott of all competitions including athletes from Russia and Belarus in March. While there were only a few such events at the time, things changed during the summer when world tournaments began actively inviting Russian and Belarusian athletes back to participate under a neutral flag. Kyiv had a choice: keep Ukrainian athletes on the bench forever, or let them compete. So, two days before Kharlan’s tournament, the ban was lifted. But the neutral flag is hardly convincing: no one was in any doubt, watching the final, that this was a Ukrainian vs a Russian.

The fencing tension could be a taste of what’s to come

Kyiv warned the International Fencing Federation that its athletes would refuse to shake hands with Russian competitors. But the sporting body chose to rule out the only available option left – a mandatory ‘salute’ (tapping sabres) – two days before the match. Natalia Konrad, Kharlan’s coach, said the federation gave Kharlan an ultimatum: shake hands with her Russian opponent or face disqualification.

This is hardly a dilemma for a Ukrainian athlete: they’d rather be kicked out of a competition than shake hands with an opponent who has not spoken out against the Russian invasion. Many Russian athletes are financially supported by the country’s Defense Ministry, hold military ranks or actively promote the Kremlin’s propaganda (read an investigation on the matter here). Competing under a neutral flag doesn’t imply neutrality; it merely grants access to a world that has excluded Russia since the full-scale invasion. Ukrainians are mindful that the war effort is dependent on these boycotts surviving: workarounds (such as the neutral flag) have wider implications. Russia invaded Crimea, after all, with troops who were not wearing the national flag – or any flag, for that matter.

Officially, Russia and Belarus are not invited to next year’s Olympic Games in Paris – but their athletes still may be allowed to compete under ‘a neutral status and flag’. So the fencing tension could be a taste of what’s to come.