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Photo by Andrejus Stasevičius (BelTA / Reuters / Scanpix)
The board of directors of the International Hockey Federation (IIHF) decided on Monday to move the 2021 World Cup to Belarus, the federation said.
Complemented by quotes from the IIHF president, René Fasel
The 2021 Hockey World Championship was to be hosted by Minsk and Riga, but the Latvian government hinted at its reluctance to co-host the championship with Belarus, where authoritarian leader Aliaksandr Lukashenko’s regime has been violently cracking down on peaceful protests since August.
The IIHF Council discussed Belarus in a remote meeting on Monday.
The IIHF Council will now have to consider the status of Latvia as one of the championship hosts and will also assess the possibility of moving to a single championship venue format to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 safety rules and facilitate the teams’ journey.
After analyzing the political and also epidemiological situation in Belarus, the federation came to the conclusion that today it is impossible to guarantee good conditions for all participants of the championship.
It is currently unclear which country will be tasked with hosting the previously planned match in Minsk. One possibility would be to entrust the entire championship to Latvia. On the other hand, it was previously announced that all or part of the championship could be organized by Denmark or the Slovak capital, Bratislava.
Riga and Minsk defeated the Finnish cities of Helsinki and Tampere in a vote in May 2017 on the right to host the championship.
In recent days, several championship sponsors, including Liqui Moly, Škoda and Nivea Men, have announced that they will withdraw their commitments if the match is played in Minsk.
The “unfortunate thing”
This year’s championship was to take place from May 21 to June 6 in Belarus and Latvia.
IIHF President René Fasel said that “removing the Minsk / Riga request for a joint organization is very regrettable.”
“In the process, we have tried to promote the World Cup as a means of reconciliation to help defuse the socio-political problems in Belarus and find a positive way forward,” he said.
“And although the Council (IIHF) considers that the World Cup should not be used for political publicity by either party, it has recognized that organizing the event in Minsk would not be appropriate when there are important issues to be addressed and that priority should the teams, spectators and security of the officials ”, Faselis stressed.
The IIHF added a provision to exclude the right to host a championship “if there are grounds for concern for the welfare of players, officials, incoming spectators and the media (workers) or freedom of movement.”
“The IIHF Council has decided that it is currently impossible to guarantee the well-being of teams, spectators and officials during the World Cup in Belarus.”
Last week IIHF President Fassel met with Belarusian President Lukashenko in Minsk, who complained that the federation was under pressure due to ongoing unrest in Belarus.
Lukashenko, for his part, said that his country was ready to host the World Hockey Championship without Latvia, assuring him that “it would be the best ever.” The President of Belarus also promised to take care of the safety of all who arrive.
Victory
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Cichanouskaya said the Belarusians had done their thing and called the Minsk World Cup transfer a victory for the country’s citizens.
“This is a victory, because there will be no more wave of repression ‘cleaning up’ the city before the World Cup. It is a victory because Lukashenko has not been able to give the impression of being in control of everything. It is a victory because the Belarusians have achieved their thing. and they have done it together, “said the statement from the Belarusian opposition leader, which was announced on his official Telegram channel on Monday.
S. Cichanouskaja pointed out that this is also a victory for the Belarusian swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia and the Sports Solidarity Fund founded by her.
“It is a victory for the Belarusian diaspora. The Belarusians went to picket the IIHF headquarters and the championship sponsors in various countries, helped foreign media to write about the events,” emphasized S. Cichanouskaja.
Furthermore, according to S. Cichanouskaja, this is a victory for the international cabinet team of its representatives and Pavel Latatuka, “who spoke in every meeting with foreign diplomats that their support is very important to us.”
“It is a victory for all Belarusians who know that hockey is a game and Belarusians are not prepared to play criminals. It is our common victory,” he added.
Czech Foreign Minister Tomasz Petrichek, who has vehemently criticized the prospect of a hockey championship in Belarus, wrote on Twitter: “Democracy 1, Lukashenko 0.”
For the sixth month in a row, Belarus has been plagued by massive protests over the August 9 presidential election, which Lukashenko has ruled the country since 1994.
The opposition and western democracies claim the elections were rigged and the winner sees political fledgling S. Cichanouskaya, who replaced her imprisoned husband in the presidential race.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Lukashenko, the release of political prisoners and new elections.
Among the issues raised by the Belarusian opposition is the transfer of the Minsk Hockey World Championship.
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