Switzerland’s under-23 fencing team has issued an apology following widespread criticism over their conduct during the medal ceremony at the European Championships in Estonia, The National reported on Monday.
After Israel clinched first place and Italy took third, the Swiss team, which finished second, turned away from the Israeli flag as Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva”, played.
The incident drew swift condemnation both within Switzerland and internationally. Team members Ian Hauri, Theo Brochard, Jonathan Fuhrimann, and Sven Vineis have since released a joint statement on the Swiss Fencing Federation’s Instagram page, expressing remorse for their actions.
“We would now like to clarify our approach and express our regrets,” the athletes wrote, emphasizing that their gesture did not demonstrate “any contempt for Israel.”
According to the statement, the team intended to show their “discomfort and empathy with the current context of great human suffering affecting all parties in this conflict," although they did not specifically reference the ongoing war in Gaza.
“This was not a political statement and did not reflect any rejection of Israel,” the fencers claimed. They also noted that they had congratulated and shaken hands with the Israeli team both before and after the podium ceremony.
“We sincerely apologise to anyone who felt hurt, in particular our opponents from the Israeli team and the Israeli Fencing Federation,” they continued, concluding that they “are learning” from the incident.
Switzerland’s Ambassador to Israel, Simon Geissbühler, issued an apology on Sunday to Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Israel Fencing Association following the incident.
"Personally, but also on behalf of Swiss Fencing, I deplore the behavior of our athletes," Ambassador Geissbühler wrote in a letter, emphasizing that "an award ceremony must under no circumstances be misused for political statements – despite every athlete's right to have their own opinion on political conflicts and wars."
He further clarified that "this action was not discussed with anyone in advance" and pledged that Swiss Fencing would "confront the athletes upon their return and then decide on the next steps."
Reacting to the Swiss team's conduct, Israel Olympic Committee Chairwoman and International Olympic Committee member Yael Arad condemned their behavior in a Facebook post.
"The Swiss under-23 team chose to cope with the loss on the podium as the anthem was being played with provocative losing chutzpah that utterly contravenes not only Olympic values, but also the fact that Switzerland declared Hamas an illegal murderous terrorist organization after October 7," she wrote.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also weighed in on the controversy, writing on X, "Shame on the Swiss team for its disrespectful behavior that humiliated and embarrassed the country they were supposed to represent."