DOSB President Hörmann criticizes Lukashenko’s role in sport

Alfons Hörmann described the role of the Belarusian dictator Lukashenka in sport as a “problem, and a big one”. The background is the question of whether the Ice Hockey World Championship should be held there in 2021.

Dhe President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), Alfons Hörmann, described the role of the Belarusian dictator Lukashenka in sport as a “problem, and a big one”. “Lukashenka is basically unacceptable as President of the National Olympic Committee (of Belarus / d. Red.) (…), I make no secret of it,” said Hörmann during a press conference on Saturday after the virtual general meeting of the DOSB.

The background to this is the discussion of the question of whether the ice hockey world championship next year should be held in the country of the dictator, among other places, although Lukashenka’s regime brutally suppresses the opposition with constant violations of elementary human rights. On Sunday, too, police officers are said to have tried to intimidate demonstrators with violence.

According to the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, the torture allegations are alarming. Hörmann referred, among other things, to an “examination process” by the International Olympic Committee. In addition, it is not about sending the Olympic team. The DOSB is responsible for this. In ice hockey, the ice hockey federation is first asked.