Ice Hockey Federation of Belarus called IIHF a victim of political games
The chairman of the Ice Hockey Federation of Belarus (FHB) Dmitry Baskov said that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) became a victim of the political games around Minsk. The commentary was published on the FHB website.
Thus, Baskov commented on the fact that yesterday the IIHF council deprived Belarus of the right to host the matches of the World Cup this year. The tournament should take place from May 21 to June 6.
“We are sorry that the International Ice Hockey Federation and the world's largest brands supporting the development of world hockey have become victims of the political games around Belarus. Our country has done a lot of work, first on preparing an application for holding the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2021, and then directly on organizing the tournament, ”Baskov said.
He added that the republic will not be able to challenge this decision, since the procedure provided for by the International Ice Hockey Federation does not imply an opportunity to appeal.
At the same time, according to Baskov, the Belarusian authorities are still confident that the 2021 World Cup “would at least repeat the success” of the 2014 tournament.
Before the IIHF made a decision, various European public organizations called on the organization to move the tournament from Minsk due to the tense political situation in the republic. In January, a number of major sponsors pledged to refuse to finance the World Cup if it was held in Belarus. The IIHF explained its decision by security issues that are “outside the control” of the international federation.
