On the contrary, it’s complete nonsesen for sports to pretend that politics does not exist and that it is OK for war mongers to be allowed take part in such competitions.
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My point is that “European values” are nothing to shout home about and certainly nothing of which to be proud.
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They made the world you live in and profit from.
The landmark ICJ ruling last year went further than that, the ICJ ordered Israel to immediately cease their unlawful actions, reverse them and pay reparations to the Palestinians. This provides sporting bodies like FIFA the legal basis it needs to enact a ban until israel is in compliance.
The landmark ruling of 19 July 2024 declared that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful, along with the associated settlement regime, annexation and use of natural resources. The Court added that Israel’s legislation and measures violate the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. The ICJ mandated Israel to end its occupation, dismantle its settlements, provide full reparations to Palestinian victims and facilitate the return of displaced people.
Looking again in the picture I see three teams on the podium. Two teams (I & III) have turned from facing forward to facing to their left. The assumption is they are facing the flag(s). Team II remain facing forward.
So who has turned their backs?
So the crime (??) is one of omission. i.e. they didn’t do anything when the expectation was they would do something.
Typically Swiss.
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While it might not be very sportsmanlike to stay facing forward instead of turning, it appears to me to be a false statement that they “turned their backs”. Unless now we’re going to argue it was a figurative turn as opposed to a literal one. Still, the Swiss flag was raised too. The Swiss athletes earned their place on the podium. IMO, turning to face the flags (including your own) is not in any way an endorsement of either side of the war.
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Don’t forget that Russian athletes are prohibited to attend Olympics…
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Let’s also not forget that given israel’s universal-conscription system, some if not all are serving in the IDF.
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Politicians have to be very careful.
Why Israel athletes compete in Euro championships? Because the Middle East neighbors have declined to play against Israel.
Participation in sports is voluntary. Any excessive action or media attack against the Swiss athletes includes the risk of triggering further “decline to play against Israel”.
The actions of the guys were not honorable, but it’s a small pressure relief valve. If that pressure keeps building up, people may choose to not play. And there’s no way to force people to play.
What is Israel doing at the European Championships anyway?!?
To be able to chose where to belong to in sports is nuts.
Are they gonna show up in Basel in two weeks as well?
Since Israel’s creation it’s neighbours didn’t want to play with it. Nations supporting Israel’s creation made an exception to the rules and invited them to participate in European competitions.
Basically nobody else wanted them.
LOL. Israel won the 1964 Asia Cup.
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The Asian Fencing Confederation was founded in 1973, the Asian Fencing Chamionship or similar didn’t exist until then.
Now, Israel did win a certain 1964 Asia Cup. The Football Asia Cup 
No shit. To be fair though, 1960s Asian football was probably as uninteresting as contemporary fencing.
Also in UEFA and other European sport associations: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia.
Of course there are hardly any jews in these countries, so they aren’t hated for participating in these events.
Swiss team of jokers apologizes to the Israeli team. “Was not intended to be a political statement”.
Once again, the reason Israel teams participates in European championships is because their geographical neighbors refuse to play with them.
So, how to solve the issue of Israel not having teams to play with? Very simple, by eliminating the teams that could play against Israel teams.
The federal budget is likely to run into deficits of several billion in the coming years. An austerity plan comprising 59 measures is intended to restore finances. Swiss Olympic is currently lobbying parliamentarians to ensure that sport is not affected by the budget cuts.
Reputable athletes and federations will have an easier time if Ruth Metzler eliminates the subsidy for fencers: funding crude activists is certainly not the responsibility of Swiss taxpayers.
Why are we subsidising the Olympics? They already have tax free status and they make buckets and buckets of money from their sponsors and the host countries.
What is disappointing is that “Swiss Fencing” did not support their athletes and instead folded to israeli pressure. The athletes clearly knew what they were doing, and it was the right thing to do given the current urgent circumstances of mass starvation and genocide.
Rather, they wanted to express “our sadness and empathy for the great human suffering of the civilian population, which affects all sides in this conflict.”
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