The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) today excluded Russia and Belarus from the World Cup in Finland in May. Sborná will not perform at the postponed Junior World Championships in Edmonton in August, the Championships 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 national teams and clubs from both countries in all events until further notice in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which Belarus also participates.
At the same time, the IIHF took away the organization of the next Under-20 World Championships, which were to take place in Novosibirsk and Omsk at the turn of the year. “The decision to relocate 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 championship will be held in St. Petersburg in 2023.
“The International Federation is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions taken in connection with the war in Ukraine,” said IIHF President Luc Tardif. “However, we have a duty to take care of all 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,” added Tardif. he added that he was shocked by footage of events in Ukraine.
The IIHF report does not mention who will replace Russia and Belarus at this year’s World Cup. The federation wants to announce the sports aspects of today’s decision in the coming weeks.
According to the afternoon information of the Finnish daily Iltalehti, the players of Austria and France should move into the elite category, which should become the new rival of the Czech team in group B. According to the Nordic media, the World Cup should not be played in Hartwall Arena. The multifunctional arena is partly owned by Russian entrepreneurs Roman Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko, who are on the European Union’s sanctions list.
Russia will not even start in the final tournaments of the Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) series – the Czech Games and the Swedish Games. The management of the Czech Ice Hockey Association decided today that it would not be invited to the Czech Games, which approved that no national teams would play against the selections of Russia and Belarus. The Swedes then informed that in the afternoon they agreed with the representatives of the Czech Republic and Finland that Russia would not be invited to the next two EHT tournaments.
