 When FIDE announced plans for the 2007–2009 World Championship cycle, it was confirmed that Topalov was excluded from the 2007 tournament, but he (along with Kramnik) was given special privileges for the 2008 and 2009 cycle.The allegations of cheating seriously damaged relations between Kramnik and Topalov.Nine years after the match, in 2015, Kramnik stated in an interview that he does not respect Topalov as a person and will not shake hands with him.