The FIE has received an Open Letter addressed to the IOC President and the FIE Executive Committee.
Subsequently, a number of signatories of the Open Letter have denied any knowledge of the letter, needless to say their consent to the letter. These individuals confirm they had never seen the letter prior to its publication.
The FIE reiterates that we have always supported the principles of democracy, openness, transparency and equal treatment.
- The FIE continues to conduct stringent background checks on all athletes and officials who apply for neutral status. Our protocols include a verification process by the FIE Eligibility Review Group for each application received. The FIE Eligibility Review Group rejects applications that do not pass the verification process, while submitting those that do to a vote by the FIE Executive Committee, via written consultation.
- The one-month postponement of three World Cups and one Grand Prix earlier this year was caused by the sudden aggravation of the geopolitical situation and was communicated promptly to all of our member federations. This correspondence can also be found on our website. While we were disappointed to have to postpone these events, we did so solely for the safety of our athletes and the principles of fairness and justice.
- Likewise, the process of applying fees to the manufacturing and safety-testing procedures of FIE-approved equipment was done in an open and transparent manner in consultation with a representative group of fencing equipment manufacturers themselves. The move came after an exhaustive study of systems and measures implemented by other International Federations and was taken first and foremost for the safety of our athletes.
- Filming at FIE events, meanwhile, is exclusively reserved for accredited media holding broadcasting rights, which is a standard protocol employed by all International Federations. This protocol is in place to safeguard personal rights (GDPR) of participants, including athletes, referees, and spectators, and intellectual property, from potential misuse of their image for unauthorised content creation or non-consensual commercialisation.
- Any claim of improper governance fails to reflect reality. In addition, allegations of corruption are entirely unsubstantiated and baseless, and factually inconsistent with our public records.
The FIE operates with strict adherence to the highest standards of good governance and transparency, with fully audited reports and information being publicly available on our website. All of our processes remain open, statutory-based, and rigorous.
The FIE is actively executing our 2025–2028 Strategic Plan to implement innovative and ambitious goals and develop fencing still further, with a clear commitment to ranking among ASOIF’s top International Federations for governance by 2027.
Diverse perspectives are common for any global organisation. To elicit in-depth discussions on topics of the greatest importance to our global fencing community, our 2026 Congress will be held over two days and be open to all National Federations, Commissions, Councils and the FIE Athletes’ Commission. It will be another opportunity for all FIE stakeholders to raise and discuss any questions or concerns and to make any proposal deemed important and necessary.
The FIE stands by our integrity and remains open for dialogue with all athletes and coaches, who we have always encouraged to voice their questions or concerns to us directly. We are treating any idea or proposal with the utmost seriousness and address them without delay.
The FIE will always take the necessary actions to defend itself against any defamatory statements that harm its reputation.