As expected, Russia and Belarus will also be absent from the world hockey championships next year. No one knows when and under what conditions he will return. However, a scenario that made the chorus nervous was possible.
“We believe the situation will improve. That’s why we waited the longest as long as possible. But no changes have come and we have to reach a clear conclusion before next season. This means Russia and Belarus will no longer participate in our matches. tournament,” said Luc Tardif, head of the International Hockey Federation.
He pointed out that Vladimir Putin, with the support of Belarusian ally Alexander Lukashenko, was still leading the invasion of Ukraine. Because of him, the IIHF eliminated both Eastern countries from all tournaments at the end of February, including the last World Cup in Finland.
Then, Russia lost the organization of the World Cup in May next year. Tampere, Finland will take over the event, along with Riga, Latvia, where the championship took place a year ago.
The IIHF has not yet discussed the conditions under which Russia and Belarus will return to their tournaments. “It will be a dilemma,” Tardif admits. “But I hope it can be done as soon as possible, because it means the conflict situation will be better.”
The two of them both represent in the current world ranking defend their location. They received points for the previous championship based on their current position (the same logic was applied after the 2020 World Cup, which didn’t happen at all due to covidid). But that doesn’t have to happen again in the future, so a deep slump could come.
It’s going to be spicy especially for the chorus, which is used to top rankings. Should he play a “flat” or “flat” world championship because of his low position?
“Russia is definitely an elite group in the sport. If we put it in the fourth division, we would devalue the tournament for five years,” said Petr Bříza, world hockey’s first vice president.
Another option is the temporary extension of the “A” championship from 16 to 18 participants. “Of course, it will have an impact on the calendar, draw or the duration of the tournament,” Bříza mentions issues related to this option.
At the IIHF Congress, according to the Russian daily Express Sports some unions, such as the Estonian one, supported the idea that the choir would start in a lower division when it returned. Historically, Slovakia, for example, had to go through with it after the country’s disintegration along with the Czech Republic.
“If this petty proposal passes, it will be possible to form the opinion that there are desperate fools in the leadership of the IIHF,” said Mikhail Zislis of Sport-Express.
“However, in the current situation, the possibility that Russia and Belarus will actually play with Ukraine or Estonia. It is incomprehensible,” he added, referring to a team that played up to the third highest level of this year’s world championships.
Legendary Soviet defender Vyacheslav Fetisov is unhappy about the possible future of the union. “Do they want to embarrass us further? I see it as something that should not happen under any circumstances,” he shows.
Zislis believes that the return of the Russian hockey player to the international scene could happen at the 2024 World Cup, which has traditionally not hosted the IIHF, but the NHL abroad. “It’s hard to imagine that a business-based league could afford to ignore a Russian superstar,” he wrote.
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