The decision was made during an extraordinary meeting of the representatives of the IIHF, which took place on Monday. The federation authorities raised the subject of the events and stated that they “strongly condemn the use of military force” and “insist on the use of diplomatic means to resolve the conflict.”
IIHF suspends all teams from Russia and Belarus
The board has decided to suspend all national teams and clubs and age groups and all IIHF competitions and events until further notice. In addition, Russia lost the right to host the World Junior Championships, which was to be held in 2023.
As a result of this decision, the Belarusian team of HK Gomel will not play in the IIHF 2022 Continental Cup (March 4-6), the men’s teams of both countries under 18 will not play in the U18 world championship (April 21 – May 1), the senior teams will not take part in the championship World Cup (May 13-29), the Russian U18 women’s team will not play at the U18 Women’s World Cup, the U20 men’s team will not play at the Junior World Cup, and the Russian women’s team will miss this year’s World Cup (August 26 – September 4).
The IIHF wants to ensure the safety of players
The decision to move the event was made primarily out of concern for the health and well-being of all participating players, officials and fans. “The IIHF Council also expressed deep concern about the freedom of movement of players and officials to and within Russia. The IIHF Council also took into account the Russian government’s breach of the Olympic truce, which was adopted in December 2021 as a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly.” we read in a statement from the IIHF.
– The IIHF is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions made regarding the war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility to look after all our members and participants and therefore we must do everything in our power to ensure that we are able to run our events in a safe environment for all teams participating in the IIHF program, said IIHF President Luc Tardif.
The suspension by the IIHF is especially painful for Russians and Belarusians, because ice hockey is the most popular sport for them. Both Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko are huge fans of it.
Source: Sport
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