German court rules in favour of IFE over Reuters’ news report
The International Fencing Federation (FIE) announced that a German appellate court in Hamburg ruled in its favour in a legal dispute with Reuters regarding a news report that claimed «almost 3,000 athletes and coaches» had expressed concerns about the federation.
The dispute arose from an open letter sent on May 5, 2026, to IOC President Kirsty Coventry and FIE leadership, calling for an external review of the federation. That same day, Reuters commissioned a report, stating the letter had been signed by «almost 3,000 athletes and coaches.» The story was widely circulated worldwide.
On 23 July, the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg overturned a lower court decision and granted the FIE a preliminary injunction. The court found that Reuters could not substantiate the number of signatories and prohibited further dissemination of the statement. Violations may result in fines of up to €250,000.
The court determined the statement was untrue because the online petition was open to anyone, with no verification of signatories’ identities or their status as athletes or coaches. Nearly half of the entries were anonymous, and the organiser encouraged recipients to share the link with others.
The court stated that describing the signatories as «almost 3,000 athletes and coaches» gave the letter more credibility than warranted, noting there was «no legitimate interest in the dissemination of untrue facts.»
FIE response
«The amplified and unfounded claim published by Reuters was the sole basis for the worldwide attention this letter received,» FIE interim president Abdelmoneim El Husseiny said. «That basis has now been qualified as untrue by a court of law, and Reuters itself now concedes it never independently verified the figure.»
«A campaign built on an anonymous, unchecked online list that anyone could manipulate discredits itself, and with it every allegation that relies on it,» El Husseini maintained.
The FIE stated that an independent review it commissioned found only a small proportion of the names matched licensed FIE athletes or coaches. The list also included parents, fans, duplicate entries, allegedly fictitious names, and athletes who later denied signing the letter.
Following the court ruling, Reuters corrected the article by removing the figure of nearly 3,000 signatories and stating it had not independently verified the signatures. The correction also noted that the FIE disputed both the number and the authenticity of the names.
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