Little expected, and yet not really surprising: just one day after his re-election as president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), Alisher Usmanov (photo above) has renounced his new mandate. The Russian billionaire, who emerged largely victorious from the election on Saturday, November 30 (120 votes, against 26 for the Swede Otto Drakenberg), has decided to take a step back. He is withdrawing, as he did in February 2022 after the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces. For the same reasons, the sanctions imposed against him by the European Union. And with the same result for the governance of the FIE, an interim presidency ensured by the Greek Emmanuel Katsiadakis. According to one of his representatives, Alisher Usmanov wants "to prevent the legally unsustainable sanctions imposed against him from being extended to the FIE and its activities"The authority confirmed this in a statement: " The FIE Executive Committee met on 1 December 2024 and was informed of the decision of Mr Alisher Usmanov to voluntarily suspend the exercise of his powers and duties as President of the International Fencing Federation in order to ensure the efficiency of the operations of the Federation. The Executive Committee accepted and ratified the decision of Mr Alisher Usmanov to suspend the exercise of his powers and duties as President of the FIE. In accordance with Article 5.1 of the FIE Statutes, according to which the management of the FIE in the interval between Congresses is entrusted to an Executive Committee, and in order to ensure the smooth running of the FIE, the Executive Committee appointed Mr Emmanuel Katsiadakis as Acting President. Mr Emmanuel Katsiadakis accepted. As Acting President, he will therefore assume all the functions of the President of the FIE, as provided for in the FIE Statutes and other regulations. The decision of the Executive Committee will be submitted for ratification to the FIE Congress at its next meeting.. » History repeats itself, therefore, with an interim president, and the possibility for Alisher Usmanov to regain his place at the head of the FIE when conditions allow.
