The International Fencing Federation FIE welcomes the July 23 2026 decision by the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court Hamburg in proceedings against Reuters regarding a report published on May 5 2026 under the headline Athletes and coaches lobby IOC with concerns over fencing federation. The court barred Reuters from spreading untrue statements about the federation.

On May 5 2026 an open letter addressed to IOC President Kirsty Coventry and FIE leadership appeared alleging issues with FIE governance and calling for an external review. The same day Reuters distributed a global dispatch claiming the letter had been signed by almost 3 000 athletes and coaches. Outlets worldwide carried the story.

FIE has maintained from the outset that the claims were inaccurate and formed part of a campaign to discredit the sport leadership.

Reuters failed to substantiate the figure and is now forbidden by court order from repeating it. The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court Hamburg issued a preliminary injunction preventing further dissemination of the statement (order of 23.07.2026 case 7 W 94/26). The Hamburg Regional Court had initially denied the application but the appellate decision favored FIE. Reuters faces fines up to 250 000 euros or detention for each violation.

The court classified the statement as a false factual assertion. Signatures were collected via a publicly accessible online form without identity verification or confirmation that signatories were athletes or coaches. Nearly half the entries were anonymous and the organizer encouraged forwarding the form to others for additional signatures.

The court noted there is no legitimate interest in circulating false facts. It stressed that claiming nearly 3 000 athletes and coaches as signatories carries greater weight and harms the federation more than referencing an unspecified group because readers expect greater expertise from athletes and coaches.

FIE Interim President Abdelmoneim El Husseiny stated the unsubstantiated Reuters claim alone generated worldwide attention for the letter. That foundation has now been ruled false and Reuters has acknowledged it never independently verified the number. A campaign resting on an anonymous unverified and easily manipulated online list undermines itself along with any allegations it supports.

Attorney Joachim Nikolaus Steinhofel representing FIE observed that the letter organizer publicly urged manipulation of the signature list before dispatch. A partly anonymous partly fabricated list signed by arbitrary third parties was presented as a protest from 3 000 athletes and coaches. The integrity of the world federation was to be challenged by a list lacking any integrity of its own.

Following the ruling Reuters revised the article removing the 3 000 figure. The correction states the signatures were never independently checked and notes FIE disputes both the number and authenticity of the signatories.

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