OREANDA-NEWS  The head of the Russian Fencing Federation Ilgar Mammadov believes that Russian athletes will face provocations in Europe. On March 10, the Congress of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) decided by a majority vote to return Russian and Belarusian fencers to international starts from mid-April.

"There is a security problem. You understand that the question is serious. It's one thing to participate in Asia, Africa, Latin America. And if somewhere in Europe, then there is a danger of provocations. It is necessary to send 15-20 bodyguards to the women's tournament with girls," Sport Express quotes Mammadov as saying.
In addition, Mammadov said that some embassies refuse to accept documents from Russian athletes.

"You yourself understand that there are countries whose embassies do not accept our documents at all. There are those who are not allowed at all, even if you somehow arrive there," he noted.

At the end of February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. FIE followed this recommendation, after which, on November 26, it extended the suspension of the Russians until March 2023.