The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) today excluded Russia and Belarus from the World Cup in Finland in May. Sborná will not feature in the postponed World Junior Championships in Edmonton in August, the Championship for players under 18 or the translated top women’s tournament.
The management of the international federation at the extraordinary meeting also suspended the participation of the national teams and clubs of the two countries in all events until further notice in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in which Belarus also participated.
At the same time, the IIHF took over the organization of the next U-20 World Championships, which will take place in Novosibirsk and Omsk at the turn of the year. “The decision to move the event was made primarily out of concern for the health and well-being of all the players, officials and fans involved,” the IIHF said in a statement. The federation will decide later whether the senior world championships will be held in St Petersburg in 2023.
“The International Federation is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions taken in relation to the war in Ukraine,” said IIHF President Luc Tardif. “However, we have an obligation to look after all of our members and participants, so we must do everything in our power to ensure that our events take place in a safe environment for all the teams taking part in the World Cup,” Tardif added. He added that he was shocked by the footage of events in Ukraine.
The IIHF report does not say who will replace Russia and Belarus at this year’s World Cup. The Federation would like to announce the sporting aspect of today’s decision in the coming weeks.
According to late afternoon information from the Finnish daily Iltalehti, the Austrian and French players will have to move into the elite category, which should be the Czech team’s new rivals in group B. According to Nordic media, the World Cup should not be played at the Hartwall Arena. This multifunctional arena is partly owned by Russian businessmen Roman Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko, who are on the EU sanctions list.
Russia will not even start the final tournament of the Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) series – Czech Match and Sweden Match. The management of the Czech Ice Hockey Association decided today that they will not be invited to the Czech Match, agreeing that no national team will play against selected teams of Russia and Belarus. Sweden later informed that in the afternoon they agreed with representatives of the Czech Republic and Finland that Russia would not be invited to the next two EHT tournaments.
“Hardcore zombie fan. Incurable internet advocate. Subtly charming problem solver. Freelance twitter ninja.”
