Soy sauce on pasta, pineapple on pizza!: Hongkongers and Italians beef over upset win in Paris 2024 fencing

HONG KONG, July 30 — Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long’s win in the men’s foil against Italy’s Filippo Macchi 15-14 in a disputed bout has seen a barrage of insults from both sides with the Italians launching a formal complaint against the result.

Italian netizens flooded Cheung’s Instagram profile, posting that Italy had been "robbed” and that the result had been "stolen”.

Hong Kong users responded with posts on "loving pineapple pizza” and "pasta with soy sauce” to mock Italian cooking. Many netizens uploaded pictures of themselves eating pizza to express solidarity with Cheung.

A Hong Kong Pizza Hut advert on Facebook that was trending online showed pizza covered in pineapples alongside a fencer skewering a pineapple. It said customers could add pineapple toppings for free when dining at the restaurant.

Macchi’s coach Stefano Cerioni told Italian media that Macchi was the "moral winner”. Giovanni Malago, president of Italy’s national Olympic Committee (CONI) said they had made a formal protest. The dispute focused on the final point which required three replays before Cheung won.

Another complaint focused on the origins of the referees, South Korean and Taiwan which they said were geographically near Hong Kong.

An IOC spokesman said the Italian appeal was a case for the federation. "Judging for fencing I have not heard any complaints but there is a procedure,” they said.

Macchi posted on Instagram his disappointment with comments such as "they robbed you”, "outrageous arbitration”.

"Referee decisions must be respected always! I know both refs, I don’t feel like pointing a finger at them and blaming them for my lack of success,” he wrote.

Many Hong Kong users wrote "respect” under his post and thanked him for his response.

Hong Kong’s Sports Federation and Olympic Committee said in response to Italy’s appeal that "our athletes have always adhere to and firmly believe in Olympism and the sports spirit, and respect all competition results and decisions by the referees.”

In a separate incident the Greek team filed an official complaint with the international federation, concerning athlete Theodora Gkountoura during her individual sabre match in the quarter-finals held on July 29.

"Theodora was subjected to decisions that we believe were biased and incompatible with the regulations governing the sport,” the Greek fencing team said. — Reuters