In response to the "protest" staged at the Seoul Foil World Cup, the FIE has issued an urgent letter in which they expanded the FIE rule regarding passivity. The rule change closes a loophole by which fencers forced the match to move into an overtime status by including language to prevent fencers from "stalling" the bout. Such passivity will now result in black cards for both fencers as well as suspension from the next two world cup tournaments.
Here is the text of the changes:
| Ladies and gentlemen, In order to codify and clarify "the attitude against sportsmanship ", the FIE Executive committee, by urgent decision of March 4th, 2005, to be ratified by the Congress, replaced the text following in article t.87: « During the first and second periods of a direct elimination bout and the first eight bouts of a team match, when both fencers make clear their desire to stop fencing or show evident passivity, the Referee will immediately call ‘Halt’, and in individual direct elimination the two fencers will take their regulation one minute rest ; in team matches they will proceed to the next bout. »by the following paragraphs with immediate application:« During a direct elimination bout or the first eight bouts of a team match, when both fencers make clear their desire to stop fencing or show evident passivity, the Referee will immediately call ‘Halt’. He will warn both fencers (without any card) and in the first and second periods of individual direct elimination, the two fencers will take their regulation one minute rest and proceed to the next period; in team matches they will proceed to the next bout. If, after this warning, both fencers continue to show evident passivity during the same direct elimination bout, or both the team members during the first eight bouts of a team match, the Referee will immediately call ‘Halt’ and both fencers (in the individual competition) or both teams (in team competitions) will be excluded and receive a black card, which will also suspend them from the following two competitions for their unsporting attitude.» |