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Belarus is heavily questioned as the organizer of the World Cup. The protests against President-elect Alexander Lukashenko have been huge and the regime has fought back. Earlier this week, information came in that Dmitry Baskov, president of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation and a close ally of Lukashenko, was present when regime critic Roman Bondarenko was beaten to death.
The board of directors of the International Ice Hockey Federation has met this week, among other things, to discuss the World Cup this spring, where Belarus is the organizer together with Latvia.
On Monday, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics announced on Twitter that Dimitrij Baskov and Dimitrij Shakuta, a former kickboxer who, according to several witnesses, had been involved in the beating to death, were prohibited from entering Latvia.
https://twitter.com/thnryankennedy/status/1329502151110955008?s=21
After participating According to a report by outside organizations and experts, the International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF announced on Wednesday that a decision on the World Cup was postponed.
“The reports we received from the expert group provoked serious discussions within the IIHF Council,” IIHF President René Fasel told the union’s website:
“There are problems related to Belarus that we must take seriously because there is a significant risk that the current challenges in Minsk, the attitude of Latvia and the covid-19 pandemic will have a significant impact on the 2021 World Cup.”
Now The Hockey News reporter Ryan Kennedy writes on Twitter that Russia will take over as the organizer of the World Cup:
“The IIHF will move the World Cup from Belarus to Moscow. René Fasel (IIHF President) goes to Russia to speak with Tretiak (Vladislav, President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation) about the issue. Latvia, co-organizer, retains their parties ”.
The Swedish Ice Hockey Association President Anders Larsson does not want to comment on the information that the World Cup will move to Russia, but writes in a text message to DN:
“The situation ahead of the 2021 Men’s World Cup is at least worrying. In the current circumstances and given the situation in Belarus at the moment, it would not have been possible for Tre Kronor to come into play. But there is still time until May and I hope that in the near future the IIHF has the opportunity to find a way forward. “
“In Swedish ice hockey we trust that René Fasel and his colleagues on the IIHF board of directors will lead this process in the best way and we will try to contribute in the best way. For us, the human perspective together with safety and health are the most important starting points for the next World Cup. “
“We hope and believe that René Fasel and the IIHF Board will have more information and suggestions for the next step when the member countries meet for the next meeting on December 1.”
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