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On Tuesday, René Fasel, President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), and Horst Lichtner, Secretary General, would travel to Minsk to meet with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Preparations for the May World Cup, to be organized jointly with Latvia, were on the agenda.
The parties reportedly discussed security issues and the situation of covid-19 in the country, as well as the accusations against Dimitrij Baskov, president of the Belarusian Hockey Federation. Baskov is accused of participating in the fatal beating of a critic of the regime.
However, the meeting has been canceled on short notice, announces the International Ice Hockey Federation in a press release, as both Fasel and Lichtner tested positive for the coronavirus before departure.
Latvia has clearly marked against Belarus, following the violence used by the regime against protesters since the controversial presidential elections in August. Latvia does not want Belarus to continue to host the World Cup and Baskov has been banned from traveling to Latvia.
Athletes are among those affected during the autumn protests in Belarus. On Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) held a press conference in which it announced that President Lukashenko, who is also president of the country’s Olympic Committee, has been excluded from the Tokyo Games next summer.
When the meeting in Minsk between the IIHF heights and Lukashenko can be undone will be announced later. First, wait ten days in quarantine for Fasel and Lichtner.
Due After the positive test, Friday’s meeting with the national federations is also postponed indefinitely. And the decision on whether or not the Ice Hockey World Cup will be in Belarus is delayed.
– It is clear that such a message from the IOC gives a clear focus on how the whole world of sport views a World Cup and therefore naturally puts the issue more in focus for the IIHF (International Hockey Federation), said the President of the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation Anders Larsson to DN after the message on IOC Actions against Belarus.
