Defeated Swiss fencers refused to face the Israeli flag during the European championship medal ceremony.
The Swiss under-23 fencing team came second and won the silver medal in the European U23 Fencing Championship in Estonia on Saturday, with Israel winning gold and Italy winning bronze.
But during the medal ceremony, the team refused to turn towards the Israeli flag while the Israeli national anthem played in the background.
The Swiss team were seen in footage facing forward while the Israelis and Italians turned sideways to face the flags of their countries during the awards ceremony.
The clip of the event has since gone viral on social media, widely hailed as an act of protest by viewers, but the Swiss Fencing Association apologised on Sunday after facing pressure from the Israeli foreign ministry.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar took to X, writing: ‘Shame on the Swiss team for their disrespectful behaviour.
‘You don’t know how to lose and behaved in a manner which is an embarrassment to you and the country you’re supposed to represent.’
In a response, the four Swiss teammates, Ian Hauri, Theo Brochard, Jonathan Fuhrimann and Sven Vineis, issued a joint apology on Instagram, writing: ‘We would like to explain our actions and express our regrets’.
The fact that they did not turn to the Israeli flag had ‘no political background and had nothing to do with disrespecting Israel,’ the team added.
Instead, 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’.
The team said they recognised their actions at the event has caused ‘irritation’ and have admitted ‘it was a mistake’.
The fencers continued: ‘We apologise to everyone whose feelings we have hurt – especially our opponents from the Israeli fencing team and the Israeli Fencing Federation.’
They concluded that they would ‘learn from this situation and exercise better judgement in the same or similar moments in the future’.
Prior to the public apology, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Tel Aviv Simon Geissbühler deplored the behavior of the Swiss athletes.
‘This action was not discussed with anyone in advance,’ he said. ‘We will confront the athletes upon their return and then decide on the next steps.’
Yael Arad, chair of the Israel Olympic Committee and a member of the International Olympic Committee added Monday that ‘the apology issued by Switzerland’s young fencing team after disgracing the medal ceremony at the European Championships is highly significant from an educational, sporting, and diplomatic standpoint.
‘Raising the Israeli flag on the world stage through Israeli excellence is our way – and we will continue on this path.’
It is not yet clear whether they will face further consequences.
The European federation has reportedly issued them a warning, and the Swiss Fencing Association said Sunday it was still evaluating whether measures should be taken.
In May 2023, Iraq’s national fencing team pulled out of a match against Israel at the World Fencing Championship in Istanbul, Turkey.
‘The decision to withdraw came in compliance with the law criminalizing normalization approved by the Iraqi parliament, and in solidarity with the Palestinian cause,’ the Iraqi Fencing Federation said in a statement at the time.