Swiss fencers apologise for diplomatic scandal with Israel

Two days after causing a diplomatic scandal at the U23 European Championships in Tallinn, the Swiss fencers responsible have published a jointly signed apology on Instagram. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox After winning silver in the team competition at the European Championships behind Israel, Ian Hauri, Théo Brochard, Jonathan Fuhrimann and Sven Vineis did not turn towards the Israeli flag during the podium ceremony like the other medallists. This caused a lot of criticism in Israel and Switzerland. + Swiss U23 fencing team condemned for disrespecting Israel “We would like to explain our actions and express our regrets,” they wrote, among other things. The fact that they did not turn to the Israeli flag had “no political background and had nothing to do with disrespecting Israel”. Rather, they wanted to express “our grief and empathy with regard to the great human suffering of the civilian population, which affects all sides in this conflict”. + Swiss ...