Newsletter

IIHF sponsors are threatening to withdraw because of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Belarus

Dhe car manufacturer Skoda threatens the international ice hockey association IIHF to withdraw as a World Cup sponsor if Belarus is not withdrawn from the World Cup this year. This was announced by the Czech company belonging to the VW Group on Saturday.

For weeks there has been increasing pressure on the world association IIHF to withdraw the tournament from Belarus because of the violations of human rights under ruler Alexander Lukashenko.

The World Cup is to take place from May 21 to June 6 in Riga, Latvia, and Minsk, Belarus. The government of EU member Latvia had already put pressure on the IIHF and its own association last year not to work with Belarus. Recently, numerous international politicians, including Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, joined the party.

“We have been a proud partner of the @IIHFHockey World Championship for 28 years. But we also respect and promote human rights, ”Skoda tweeted on Saturday. In Belarus, the media reported that the Nivea Men brand had announced its withdrawal as a sponsor the day before if the World Cup was to be held in Minsk.

This relativizes the fear of IIHF President René Fasel of considerable financial damage if the treaty with Belarus is not adhered to. IIHF Vice President Kalervo Kummola told the Russian state agency Tass that he was not surprised by the sponsors’ attitude. Others thought so too. The IIHF Executive Committee wants to discuss the World Cup again on January 25th and 26th. “We have had a plan B since last autumn,” said Fasel recently and only brought a World Cup into play in Latvia, Slovakia or Denmark.

The EU has not recognized Lukashenko as president since the presidential election on August 9, which was classified as falsified. Dozens of states have imposed sanctions against functionaries of the power apparatus. Protests against Lukashenko have seen more than 30,000 arrests, hundreds of injuries and numerous deaths since August. Belarus is also being criticized for its lack of corona protective measures.

.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending