World fencing's governing body has decided not to take action against suspended Italian fencer Andrea Baldini pending the result of probes into whether a doping sample he provided could have been tampered with.
The Italian Olympic Committee and prosecutors in the fencer's home town Livorno are investigating Baldini's claim that someone must have interfered with the samples taken at the European Championships which contained a banned substance.
''Sabotage? It's a hypothesis that the International Fencing Federation (FIE) has not ruled out,'' said the head of the Italian Fencing Federation (FIS), Giorgio Scarso, in Paris to back Baldini's plea to the FIE.
''Our federation was right not to abandon Baldini,'' Scarso said.
''This isn't your usual doping case,'' he said.
Last month FIS said it was standing by Baldini, one of Italy's top medal hopes at the Beijing Olympics until he was ruled out by the doping case. It said it was ''still shocked about a situation which involves an athlete who has always stood out for his sportsmanship and correctness''.
FIS added that it would back Baldini's request for DNA tests on the two urine samples taken from the 23-year-old champion at the European championships in Kiev last month.
News on August 1 that Baldini had failed a doping test led to his being automatically suspended by the Italian Olympic team.
He was replaced by European champion Andrea Cassara'.
Cassara', the reigning world champion, was knocked out at the quarter-final stage by China's Jun Zhu - but Zhu was beaten to the bronze by Italy's Salvatore Sanzo.
Baldini won silver for the foil at the world championships in 2006 and 2007 and was ranked No.1 in the world before his suspension.
He had been a favorite to win the gold in Beijing.
