René Fasel, who until recently led world hockey, cheered for Russia in the finals of the Olympic tournament. According to him, the Finns won thanks to a strong defense and luck. He angered the Nordic country with this statement.
Even before the finals, 72-year-old Fasel shouted through the media: “Come on, Russia!”
However, the tournament without the NHL, in which the choir entered as the biggest favorite, was won by the Finnish hockey players. After a result of 2: 1, they celebrate Olympic gold for the first time in history.
“The final was not very attractive to the audience, definitely not like the semifinals between Russia and Sweden,” Fasel told the Russian agency TASS. “The finals were brought a defensive game to the Finns and also a little luck, they should be congratulated. The Russians still played a good tournament, silver also counts.”
“We have seen the future of hockey, when medals and trophies are won by defense,” he added.
Fasel’s statement that the Suomi national team, which dominated the finals with 31:17 shots, succeeded mainly due to defensiveness and luck, provoked a strong negative response in Finland. Celebrities also spoke.
“Fasel has clearly shown an inability to understand such a great game as hockey. Unfortunately, he has been the head of world hockey for a long, long time,” said Jarmo Kekäläinen, who serves as Columbus general manager at the NHL.
“Forget Fasel’s stupid comments and enjoy the gold,” added Kalervo Kummola, who has served as vice president of world hockey for many years and is still an influential person in Finland.
He later told the Iltalehti newspaper that he had received several kind messages from Fasel. “According to them, we were better in the finals. René realized how his comments were spreading here and acted. He was probably afraid that otherwise he would have to at the next World Cup. (organized by Finland in May, editor’s note) to sleep in a tent, “Kummola laughed.
Fasel also explained his statements to the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.
“I don’t boss world hockey anymore, so I can say what I think,” he defended. “I just say I’m a fan of Russia. I like the way he plays.”
“Finnish hockey is based on tough defense and blocking shots. It may not look its best, but it is effective. Now you have won gold thanks to it. And deservedly. You were better in the finals,” he told the Finns. “Russia will have a chance to retaliate at the next World Cup in Tampere.”
Fasel was not too surprised by his attitude. He had known himself as a friend of the Russians in the past. He has been leading world hockey for 27 long years. He finished only in September last year, when he was replaced by the Frenchman Luc Tardif.
Shortly before his term expired, Fasel – as a former referee – took part in the event of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a striped jersey. During the exhibition match in Sochi, he thanked him for the development of sports.
Not popular with the Czechs
The Swiss dentist, now played by the Finns, used to anger the Czechs. Most at the 1997 World Cup, where the Czechia played the infamous match with Canada.
The overseas power did not suffer a 3: 5 defeat at all and caused a series of skirmishes. However, the Swedish referee Andersson did not take this into account – he prematurely sent four players on each side to the showers, who were to lose the next race. When the Czechs objected, Fasel threw up his hands that the judges’ statements could not be changed retroactively.
In the end, two sentences were abolished for both Czechs and Canadians. However, Vladimír Vůjtek Jr., who received the green light from the directorate, still could not jump. The overseas aggressors caused his concussion. The weakened Czechs subsequently lost to Sweden 0: 1 and lost the final. They played “only” bronze.
According to speculation, the very debatable decisions were due to the effort not to upset Canada before the Olympics in Nagano, where NHL stars were to play under five rings for the first time.
