Olga Kharlan and the Refused Handshake: Rules, Respect and War

Timeline

1. Jul 2023Ukraine eases its policy to let athletes compete against Russian and Belarusian neutral athletes in Olympic qualifying events.
2. Jul 27, 2023Kharlan beats Smirnova 15-7 in Milan, offers her blade instead of a handshake, and is shown a black card.
3. Jul 28, 2023Bach promises Kharlan an additional Paris 2024 quota place; the FIE suspends her penalty so she can fence in the team event.
4. Jul 2023The FIE says the handshake will be replaced by a non-contact salute.
5. Jul 29, 2024Kharlan wins individual sabre bronze, Ukraine's first medal of Paris 2024.
6. Aug 2024Kharlan helps Ukraine win the women's team sabre gold, beating South Korea 45-42.

The ethical issues

• Compelled gestures of respect when one athlete's country is at war with the other's.
• Rules applied to the letter versus the spirit of sportsmanship.
• Neutral-athlete policies and the experience of athletes from the invaded country.
• Fairness of an ad hoc remedy (an extra Olympic place) for one athlete.
• The opponent's dignity and her own response to the refusal.

Stakeholders

Stakeholder	Interests & obligations
Olga Kharlan and Ukrainian athletes	Competing without being forced into gestures they find intolerable.
Anna Smirnova and neutral athletes	Being treated as individual competitors under the rules.
FIE referees and officials	Applying clear rules consistently.
International Fencing Federation	Rules that preserve order, safety and the sport's traditions.
IOC	Its neutral-athlete policy and solidarity with Ukrainian athletes.
Other fencers in qualification	A fair, predictable route to the Olympics.

The case

On July 27, 2023, at the fencing World Championships in Milan, Ukraine’s Olga Kharlan beat Russia’s Anna Smirnova 15-7 in the women’s individual sabre. It was one of the first such meetings after Ukraine eased its boycott of events involving Russian athletes.^[3] Smirnova, competing as an individual neutral athlete, approached with her hand extended. Kharlan held out her sabre to tap blades instead. Smirnova walked away and staged a sit-down protest on the piste for about 45 minutes. Kharlan was shown a black card and disqualified.^[1][4][3]

Background

Kharlan is one of Ukraine’s most decorated athletes: a four-time individual world champion and four-time Olympic medalist at the time.^[4] After Russia’s invasion in February 2022, international federations excluded Russian and Belarusian athletes; by 2023 the IOC had recommended that some be allowed back as individual neutral athletes, and fencing was among the sports that readmitted them.^[3][6] Ukraine’s government had barred its athletes from events where Russians and Belarusians competed. In July 2023 it eased that policy so its athletes could compete against neutral athletes in Olympic qualifying events, which made Milan the first test.^[6][3]

Other Ukrainian athletes had already declined to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents. Tennis players Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk and Lesia Tsurenko were among them.^[4]

The rules and governance

Fencing’s rules treated the post-bout handshake as mandatory. Failing to shake an opponent’s hand was penalized with a black card, which means exclusion from the competition.^[1][4] Because the World Championships carried Olympic qualifying points, the disqualification also cost Kharlan the points she could have earned in Milan, and the black card meant automatic exclusion from the team event.^[1][5] Ukrainska Pravda reported that the sanction included a two-month suspension.^[5] Each Olympic sport has a fixed number of quota places, normally allocated only through qualification.^[1]

The disqualification and the reversal

Kharlan explained her decision in an Instagram video: “I did not want to shake hands with that athlete and I acted with my heart.” She said the disqualification “killed me. It killed me so much that I was screaming in pain,” and called for a change: “The rules have to change because the world is changing.”^[4] Svitolina wrote in support: “We are not shaking hands with Russian and Belarusian athletes. That is our position! I call on international sports organisations and federations to respect our decision!”^[4]

On July 28, IOC President Thomas Bach, himself a former Olympic team fencing champion, wrote to Kharlan.^[3] Bach wrote: “Given your unique situation, the International Olympic Committee will allocate an additional quota place to you for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in case you will not be able to qualify in the remaining period.” He called it a “unique exception,” noting that “the ongoing procedures will in no case make up for the qualification points you missed because of your disqualification,” and added that she must meet the other eligibility criteria “like any other” athlete.^[3][2] Bach also called for “sensitivity” in handling encounters between Ukrainian and Russian athletes. Kharlan said she had been told a blade touch would suffice as a gesture of sportsmanship. Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov accused the IOC of having “picked a side in the political conflict.”^[1]

The same day, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) suspended Kharlan’s penalty so she could compete in the team event. Interim president Emmanuel Katsiadakis said the federation had met with Kharlan and, “after consultation with the International Olympic Committee, we believe this decision is made in keeping with the Olympic Spirit. It also sends a message of sensitivity and understanding to our members and all sports federations.”^[4] The FIE maintained that the black card had been legitimate under its rules; the suspension was paused rather than cancelled.^[5] Kharlan said she was grateful: “The most important thing for an athlete is to be able to compete.”^[4]

Rule change

The FIE also said that the handshake would immediately be replaced by a remote, non-contact salute, so that Ukrainian fencers would not be required to approach Russian opponents even when the Russians competed as neutrals.^[5]

Aftermath

Kharlan reached Paris 2024. On July 29, 2024, she won bronze in the women’s individual sabre, defeating South Korea’s Choi Se-bin 15-14, to give Ukraine its first medal of the Games.^[7] Days later she led Ukraine’s women’s sabre team to Olympic gold, beating South Korea 45-42 in the final.^[8]

The core dilemma

A handshake rule exists to signal respect and mark the end of combat. Applied to a Ukrainian athlete facing a Russian opponent during a war, it demanded a gesture she found intolerable, and the penalty for refusing was the harshest in the rulebook. The federation reversed course within a day under pressure from the IOC, and changed the rule. Was the original sanction a fair application of a neutral rule, or did the rule ask too much? And when an ad hoc remedy fixes one athlete’s situation, is that fair to everyone else?

Competing values

• Consistent rules vs. contextual judgment: officials applied the rule as written, but the context was extraordinary.
• Respect for opponents vs. freedom of conscience: a gesture of respect can become a compelled statement.
• The opponent’s dignity vs. the protester’s conviction: Smirnova was not responsible for her government’s actions, yet the refusal was directed at her.
• Fixed qualification vs. exceptional remedy: an extra quota place repaired a loss for one fencer outside the normal system.

Strongest arguments

For the original black card. The rule was clear, known in advance and applied to everyone. Neutral athletes compete as individuals and are entitled to the same courtesy as anyone else. If officials begin making exceptions in the moment, every protest becomes a negotiation, and order on the piste depends on politics.

For the reversal and rule change. A ceremonial rule should not end an athlete’s Olympic hopes, particularly when a respectful alternative (touching blades) was offered. Forcing physical contact on an athlete from an invaded country confuses respect with submission. Changing to a salute kept the courtesy while removing the compulsion.

A middle view. The rule needed changing, but the change should have been made in advance through the federation’s normal process, not after one athlete was penalized. The extra Olympic place, though understandable, was a precedent the IOC itself called “unique.”

Applying the frameworks

Kantian (duty)

A Kantian would ask what duty the rule expresses and whether it can be universalized. A duty to acknowledge an opponent’s humanity is sound, and Kharlan’s offer of a blade touch arguably honored it. A rule that compels a particular physical gesture regardless of conscience is harder to defend. The lens also cuts the other way: it would ask whether Smirnova was being treated merely as a symbol of her state rather than as a person.

Virtue ethics

A virtue lens asks what a person of good character, and a good institution, would do. For Kharlan, the relevant virtues include courage, honesty and loyalty to her community; critics might ask whether magnanimity toward an individual opponent is also a virtue. For the FIE, practical wisdom means anticipating predictable conflicts rather than discovering them on the piste.

Rights

A rights lens focuses on freedom of conscience and expression, and on equal treatment. Kharlan’s refusal can be seen as protected expression that harmed no one physically. Smirnova, competing lawfully as a neutral, had a right to non-discriminatory treatment. A rights analysis would look for a rule that protects both, which a non-contact salute arguably does.

Walk it through: the Simple Decision Model

1. Spot the issue. You are the FIE’s leadership on July 28, 2023. Stakeholders include Kharlan, Smirnova, other neutral and Ukrainian fencers, referees, national federations, the IOC and, less visibly, fencers competing for the same Olympic places. The codes in play are the FIE’s rules on the handshake and black cards, and the IOC’s neutral-athlete framework.
2. Gather facts. What exactly did the rule require, and was the referee left any discretion? What did Kharlan offer instead? How did the sit-in affect the competition? Watch for publicity bias: global attention can push for a fast answer that sets an unexamined precedent.
3. Test options. Uphold the card; suspend the sanction and amend the rule; or uphold the individual result but restore team eligibility. Weigh each for consequences, duties to consistency and conscience, and what it shows about the federation.
4. Check codes and law. What do the FIE statutes allow the executive committee to do? Does the rule’s purpose (respect at the end of a bout) require physical contact, or only acknowledgment?
5. Decide and document. Record the rationale, the trade-off between consistency and context, and why any exception is limited. Consult athletes’ commissions, referees and the IOC.
6. Communicate and follow up. Announce the decision and any rule change clearly, brief referees before the next event, and monitor future Ukraine–Russia bouts for both protest and harassment.

What’s settled and what’s contested

Settled

• Kharlan refused a handshake with Smirnova after winning 15-7 and was shown a black card under FIE rules.
• The IOC promised her an additional Paris 2024 place if needed, and the FIE suspended her penalty for the team event.
• The FIE moved to replace the handshake with a non-contact salute; Kharlan won individual bronze and team gold in Paris.

Contested

• Whether the original black card was a fair application of the rules or a failure of judgment.
• Whether the IOC’s promise was fair to other fencers chasing qualification.
• Whether refusing to shake an individual neutral athlete’s hand is legitimate protest or a lapse in sportsmanship.

Why this case matters

Sport’s rituals of respect assume opponents share a common frame. War breaks that assumption. The Kharlan case shows how a small rule can carry heavy meaning, how quickly a governing body can be forced to choose between consistency and conscience, and how rules can be redesigned to keep the purpose of a tradition without compelling a gesture that athletes cannot make in good faith.

Key terms

Sportsmanship

Visible respect for opponents, officials, teammates and the game itself.

Rules vs. spirit of the game

Rules are the written minimum; the spirit is the fairness and respect the rules exist to protect. Rules set the floor; spirit sets the ceiling.

Fair play

Integrity put into practice: respecting both the written rules and the spirit of competition.

Agency

An athlete’s ability to make decisions and act independently about their body, career and voice.

Multiple points of view

Analyzing a dilemma from each stakeholder’s position in turn (athlete, parent, coach, administrator, official, bystander) before reaching your own reasoned view.

Core values

The principles a sport organization says it stands for, most often safety, fairness, respect, integrity and transparency.

Definitions from the Ethics Cases glossary.

Discussion questions

1. Was the black card a correct application of a reasonable rule, a correct application of a bad rule, or a misapplication?
2. Should Smirnova's sit-in have been sanctioned as well? Why or why not?
3. Was the IOC's promise of an extra Olympic place fair to other fencers seeking to qualify?
4. Can sport require athletes to show respect to opponents from a country at war with their own?

Sources

1. Disqualification of Ukraine fencer Kharlan reversed — DW
2. IOC assures Ukraine fencer of Paris Games spot after DQ for not shaking hands with Russian opponent — Associated Press
3. Ukraine's Kharlan assured of Paris 2024 Olympics place by IOC after handshake furore — Inside the Games
4. Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan calls for rule change after disqualification — CNN
5. FIE overrules disqualification of Ukrainian fencer: Kharlan can compete at World Championships — Ukrainska Pravda
6. Ukraine eases its sports boycott policy to compete against some Russians ahead of Olympics — Associated Press
7. Kharlan claims Ukraine's first medal with bronze in women's sabre — Reuters
8. Paris 2024 fencing: Ukraine come from behind to take Olympic gold in women's team sabre final — Olympics.com