German sports journalist Hajo Seppelt, known for his investigative reporting, has officially retracted statements he made on the major German TV network ARD about an alleged “system of referee bribery” in international fencing that he claimed was created by Uzbek-Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
Seppelt has now signed a cease-and-desist letter, acknowledging these claims were baseless and committing to refrain from their further dissemination, according to a statement from Usmanov’s lawyer. This information was confirmed by the billionaire’s press office.
The original report, which aired in August 2024 on Germany’s leading TV network, levelled serious accusations against Usmanov, a prominent figure in international sports and a longtime president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE). The report claimed, without concrete evidence, that Usmanov had created a “system of bribing referees” in the FIE.
In September 2024, the Hamburg Regional Court declared the claims “inadmissible”, condemning the broadcast as lacking substantiation and solid evidence. In a related move, WDR, an ARD consortium member, issued a formal statement confirming its compliance with the court ruling and removed the controversial report from its platforms.
Usmanov’s media rights lawyer Joachim Steinhöfel said: “The falsity of the insinuations made by Mr. Seppelt on ARD was so obvious that the broadcaster and the journalist did the only right thing.” He added that such unfounded claims serve only to tarnish reputations, undermining both individuals and the institutions they represent.
EU Today has reached out to ARD for comment.
Usmanov, a professional fencer in his youth, served as FIE president from 2008 until 2022, when he voluntarily suspended his duties after being targeted by EU sanctions. He will reportedly take part in the upcoming elections of FIE President on 30th November.
Seppelt’s retraction represents the final resolution in Usmanov’s lawsuit against ARD. However, the legal consequences for Seppelt may not end here, as Usmanov has filed a criminal complaint with the Cologne Public Prosecutor’s Office against both Seppelt and retired FIE referee Markus Schulz, another source featured in the broadcast, on grounds of libel and slander.
The FIE Interim President, Emmanuel Katsiadakis, earlier said that the main source for the ARD report had been a former referee who was removed from the list by a judges’ panel in 2023. Katsiadakis added that alleged manipulation by the refereeing team was technically impossible to implement because the judges are assigned to each bout by a computer system just half an hour prior.
This case is one of several victories for Usmanov in his campaign to address false media allegations. Between 2022 and 2024, over 30 retractions have been signed by European media outlets and public figures, committing to halt further publication of unverified claims about Usmanov. In addition, multiple media outlets have voluntarily corrected or deleted articles, often following pre-trial requests from Usmanov’s legal team.
Usmanov has obtained numerous injunctions against defamatory content in the international media, most notably against Forbes in January 2024, resulting in a court order banning the magazine’s claim that Usmanov had “fronted for [Russian president Vladimir] Putin” and “solved his business problems.”
