USMANOV RE-ELECTED AS FENCING FEDERATION CHIEF AMID SANCTIONS 

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Despite EU sanctions, Putin-linked oligarch regains top role

Russ­ian bil­lion­aire Alish­er Usman­ov, ranked ninth on Forbes Rus­si­a’s list with a net worth of $13.4 bil­lion, has been re-elect­ed as pres­i­dent of the Inter­na­tion­al Fenc­ing Fed­er­a­tion (FIE). The deci­sion, announced in Tashkent, drew crit­i­cism for dis­re­gard­ing his con­nec­tions to the Krem­lin and his sta­tus as a sanc­tioned indi­vid­ual in the Euro­pean Union.  

Usman­ov secured 120 votes against his sole oppo­nent, Swedish Fenc­ing Fed­er­a­tion Pres­i­dent Otto Drak­en­berg, who received just 26. While over 100 nation­al fenc­ing fed­er­a­tions backed Usman­ov, Drak­en­berg was sup­port­ed only by Swe­den.

A Controversial Figure in Global Sports

Usman­ov has led the FIE since 2008, repeat­ed­ly re-elect­ed with­out sig­nif­i­cant oppo­si­tion. In March 2022, he sus­pend­ed his pres­i­den­cy after the EU imposed sanc­tions, cit­ing his ties to Russ­ian Pres­i­dent Vladimir Putin. Dur­ing his absence, Emmanuel Kat­si­adakis served as act­ing pres­i­dent.  

Usmanov’s return to the helm comes amid broad­er ten­sions in inter­na­tion­al sports. In March 2023, the FIE con­tro­ver­sial­ly allowed Russ­ian ath­letes to com­pete under a neu­tral flag, spark­ing back­lash. How­ev­er, promi­nent Russ­ian fencers, includ­ing Olympic cham­pi­ons Sofya Velikaya and Yana Ego­ri­an, were exclud­ed from com­pe­ti­tions.  

Broader Implications

The oli­garch’s re-elec­tion con­firms the ongo­ing chal­lenges in enforc­ing glob­al sports gov­er­nance stan­dards and under­scores Rus­si­a’s abil­i­ty to main­tain and expand its influ­ence in inter­na­tion­al orga­ni­za­tions, both in sports and beyond, despite wide­spread sanc­tions and mount­ing glob­al oppo­si­tion to its geopo­lit­i­cal actions.

The FIE’s deci­sion to rein­state Usman­ov fol­lows broad­er con­tro­ver­sies sur­round­ing the organization’s treat­ment of Russ­ian ath­letes. In March 2023, the FIE allowed Russ­ian ath­letes to com­pete under a neu­tral flag, a move that faced sig­nif­i­cant back­lash. Nev­er­the­less, promi­nent Russ­ian fencers, includ­ing Olympic cham­pi­ons Sofya Velikaya and Yana Ego­ri­an, remain exclud­ed from com­pe­ti­tions.

This re-elec­tion high­lights the com­plex­i­ties of main­tain­ing integri­ty in inter­na­tion­al sports, where polit­i­cal and eco­nom­ic pow­er out­weigh prin­ci­ples of fair­ness and neu­tral­i­ty.