Swiss fencers apologise after refusing to face Israeli flag

Switzerland's youth fencing team apologised Monday, two days after sparking a diplomatic row by refusing to face the Israeli winners' flag at the European championships in Estonia.

Following its defeat against Israel in the final of the under-23 championships in Tallinn on Saturday, the four-man Swiss team did not join the Israelis and the third-placed Italians in turning towards the flags during the playing of the winner's national anthem.

The four teammates, Ian Hauri, Theo Brochard, Jonathan Fuhrimann and Sven Vineis, issued a joint apology on Instagram after drawing ire in Israel and Switzerland alike for politicising the sporting event.

"We wish to explain our actions and express our regret," they said in their message, stressing that their action did not reflect "any contempt for Israel".

Instead, they said they had merely wanted to express their "sadness and empathy for the great human suffering of the civilian population" on all sides in Israel's war on Gaza.

The four young fencers recognised that their action "caused irritation, and that was a mistake".

"We apologise to all those we offended, especially to our opponents in the final on the Israeli team and to the (fencing) federation," they said, vowing to "learn from this situation and show better judgement" in the future.

Their apology came after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar expressed outrage about the incident on X, posting a picture of the Swiss team members facing away from the two other teams on the medals podium.

"Shame on the Swiss team for their disrespectful behaviour," he wrote Saturday evening, adding: "You don't know how to lose and behaved in a manner which is an embarrassment to you and the country you're supposed to represent."

It remains unclear what consequences the Swiss team might face.

The European federation has reportedly issued them a warning, and the Swiss Fencing Association said Sunday it was still evaluating whether measures should be taken.