WUXI, China - The International Fencing Federation (FIE) has issued sanctions following a contentious refereeing decision during the 2025 Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships, as confirmed by the Chinese Fencing Association.

The FIE announced on Thursday that the referee involved in the incident, Greece's Andreas Douvis, has been suspended from officiating until the end of the current season, effective immediately.

The controversy erupted during the cadet women's individual sabre final on Tuesday, where China's 15-year-old Pan Qimiao faced Romania's Amalia Covaliu. Tied at 14-14, the decisive touch saw both fencers' lights activate simultaneously. After reviewing footage, the referee controversially awarded the point to Covaliu, ruling that Pan's parry attempt missed the blade during a "right of way" exchange.

Despite video evidence showing Covaliu stepping out of bounds during the final action - a fact confirmed by an assistant judge - the call stood unchallenged. Pan had to settle for silver after having claimed junior bronze just a day earlier.

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The Chinese Fencing Association filed an official appeal the following day, submitting multi-angle video evidence. The appeal argued that Pan had rightfully retained priority after Covaliu's initial attack missed, and that Pan had scored cleanly.

Additionally, the association highlighted that Covaliu had stepped out of bounds during the final action - a fact confirmed by the assistant judge but overlooked in the final ruling.

In a statement, the Chinese Fencing Association condemned the error as "devastating" for a young athlete at the outset of her career, stressing that such mistakes "severely undermine sporting fairness, damage the FIE's credibility, and harm the development of athletes and the sport itself."

Following an emergency FIE executive committee meeting on Wednesday, the FIE Bureau issued penalties on Thursday: Cancellation of the financial bonus for the event and cancellation of all the designations till the end of the 2024-25 season with immediate effect for Douvis; Official warning for refereeing delegates, video referee and assistant referees of the final.

Also on Thursday, the FIE convened a meeting with all tournament referees to reiterate strict adherence to competition rules, impartial officiating, and safeguarding fair play for the remainder of the championships.

The championships, featuring over 1,400 athletes from 101 countries and regions across 18 events, continues in Wuxi through April 15.