Minsk Hurdle (Young World newspaper)

At the moment there is a lot of attention for the little puck, the sport-political line is extremely fine for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The IIHF and its Swiss President René Fasel want to take their time until the end of this month to decide whether the world championship will take place as planned from May 21 to June 6 in Latvia and Belarus. Criticism of the plan is armed in light of the way the Belarusian government has dealt with the ongoing opposition protests. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, for example, asked the World Ice Hockey Federation to withdraw the World Cup from Belarus. At the weekend, the pressure increased: main sponsor Skoda threatened to withdraw if the tournament takes place in Minsk as planned.

World ice hockey is in a mess. In contrast to the 2014 World Cup in the Belarusian capital, this time the public is watching very closely. Will the game be played in Minsk because the tournament was duly awarded there and otherwise the world association could face unpleasant claims for recourse from the host? Will the World Cup be canceled completely under the pretext of the corona pandemic – with the risk that a multi-million dollar TV contract with the marketing agency will not be kept and thus financial hardship for the IIHF? Or will the event be handed over to another host four months before the first face-off, as co-organizer Latvia has been demanding for months? And if so, which ones?

Questions that the German sports official Klaus Schormann is puzzling over. The 74 year old from Darmstadt does not have any shares in the international ice hockey business. But Schormann has been President of the World Association for Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) since 1993. And as an experienced functionary he can count on the fingers of one hand that modern pentathlon (shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and cross-country running) will soon receive the same uncomfortable attention as ice hockey. Because the UIPM also awarded its World Cup to Minsk. The closer the tournament, planned for June 7th to 13th, which is practically seamlessly linked to the World Cup final of the puck hunters, the more Schormann will come under pressure. During a visit to the Belarusian capital last March, he had told media representatives that he assumed that “wonderful competitions” would be organized there in June 2021. A statement that now sounds like from another time. Handed in ahead of the presidential election and violent attacks by security forces against demonstrators.

The UIPM is still keeping a low profile. Before the end of January, that is, before the ice hockey association has made a final decision, “no explanations will be given,” replied Schormann’s office jW-Inquiry. It goes without saying that the UIPM is currently in close contact with the Belarusian National Association of Modern Pentathletes, “which is represented by a democratically elected Presidium (in accordance with the UIPM Statutes).”

The postscript leaves some room for interpretation. After all, it is about the fundamental question of when an organizer, to which major international championships have been awarded, is no longer acceptable. It is highly explosive from a sport-political point of view, as it also affects the independence of sport: whether and, if so, from when external interference in decisions of the sporting associations is to be welcomed, does not damage their sovereignty and autonomy?

René Fasel recognized unfair external interference when the first shouts were loud that Belarus had to withdraw from the Ice Hockey World Cup in 2021. Meanwhile, the dentist, who will celebrate his 71st birthday on February 6th, has become quieter. Originally, he had already wanted to give up the management of the association last year after the World Cup at home in Switzerland – which was canceled due to Corona. Klaus Schormann, on the other hand, wants to stay in the highest UIPM office until 2024 – if he can jump the high Belarusian hurdle.