Sportbox: Hockey player Gurkov renounced Russian citizenship in order to play at the World Cup for Kazakhstan
Hockey player Dmitry Gurkov renounced Russian citizenship. This became known to Sportbox.
It is specified that the 26-year-old striker was forced to leave only the passport of Kazakhstan due to the legislation of the Asian country. Before that, the fans initiated a check, which showed that four hockey players have dual citizenship. The players were offered to give up their Russian passport in order to play at the World Championships (WCH) for the Kazakhstan national team.
In the 2022/2023 season of the Kontinental Hockey League, Gurkov played 34 matches for Barys and gave one assist.
On March 22, the Council of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) extended the suspension of the national teams of Russia and Belarus from tournaments. The organization said that the return of teams to the world stage is not safe. The national teams will not take part in all tournaments under the auspices of the organization until the end of the 2023/2024 season.
On February 28, 2022, the IIHF suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus from participating in competitions under its auspices. Also, Russia was deprived of the right to host the 2023 World Cup and the youth championship of the planet.
Source: Lenta
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