‘Not right’: Italian fencing body protests Hong Kong athlete Edgar Cheung’s historic gold medal win at Paris Olympics
Hong Kong Free Press
The Italian Fencing Federation has filed a formal protest following Hong Kong athlete Edgar Cheung’s gold medal win at the Paris Olympic Games.
Italian fencer Filippo Macchi was “denied a gold” in the men’s individual foil event after losing 14-15 to Cheung in a thrilling final on Monday night Paris time, the Italian Fencing Federation said in a statement on Monday. A formal complaint was submitted to the International Fencing Federation (FIE) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Italian fencing body criticised the refereeing in the match as “unacceptable.” The referee of the match was Huang Hao-chich of Chinese Taipei, while the referee responsible for watching video replay was Suh Sangwon of South Korea.
According to the federation, the second referee should have been changed because there should not be a “neighbouring referee” with an athlete. FIE’s guidelines state that referees must avoid accepting an assignment to referee or otherwise be involved in any specific bout in which they have a perceived or actual conflict of interest with any participant.
A potential conflict of interest may involve a referee with the same nationality of a fencer or the trainer or the national coaches. If a referee had a domicile in the country of a related party within the last five years, a conflict of interest may arise as well.
Nicknamed “Fencing God,” the 27-year-old was defending his title after winning a historic gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
In Monday’s final, Cheung held a one-point lead when the first bout ended in 11-10. Macchi overtook the Hongkonger in the second bout and left Cheung trailing behind with a score of 12-14. The Hongkonger made a comeback and managed to level at 14-14. Both fencers were one point away from winning the title.
There were two instances where Cheung and Macchi both landed their touches. Referee Huang, after consulting the video judge, ruled on both occasions that neither fencer had the right of way and no point was awarded.
Cheung eventually sealed the deal by finding Macchi’s blade and launched an attack, ending the tightly-fought match in 15-14.
The Italian Fencing Federation’s president Paolo Azzi said there was a problem with the drawing of the referees and the level of refereeing was “below the great final” between Cheung and Macchi.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Filippo Macchi is the true winner and has been denied a gold he deserved,” Azzi said in the Italian statement.
‘He deserved better’
Macchi’s coach Stefano Cerioni also expressed anger over the result, saying in the statement that the Italian fencer was the “moral winner.” During the match, Cerioni had gestured to the referees saying that Macchi should have been awarded points for both touches.
“Here the gold was awarded, the silver is a great medal but he deserved better. It is not right to take away what Filippo had earned,” the coach said.
Supporters and critics of Cheung and Macchi rushed to leave comments on their Instagram accounts in the hours following the match.
“If you can’t afford to lose, then don’t compete. The referees were very fair in ruling that you lost,” a commentator wrote in Cantonese on Macchi’s Instagram profile.
On Cheung’s Instagram, an user wrote: “I hope you have fun with Macchi’s gold medal.”
Cheung ended Hong Kong’s 25-year gold medal draught in 2021 when he took home a gold medal at the Tokyo Games. He made history for the city again on Monday by becoming the first-ever Hong Kong athlete to win a gold medal in two consecutive Olympic Games. He was also the third men’s foilist in history to clinch a back-to-back Olympic title.
The Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) told local media outlets that it would respect the verdict of the Italy fencing body’s appeal.
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