According to behind-the-scenes information from journalist Gord Miller, it could be years before the hockey community accepts Russia and Belarus back, even if Russia’s war in Ukraine ends soon.
After the world championships in Tampere and Riga, where the Germans took the sensational silver and the Latvians the bronze, the ice hockey federation IIHF published the current world ranking. In it, the Czechs fell to eighth place between Switzerland and Slovakia. The first is Canada, followed by Finland.
Russia kept the third place, despite not competing in the last two championships. This means he still gets automatic points for placing before his disqualification.
For the same reason, Belarus is not falling either, which is 14th between France and Kazakhstan.
Both eastern countries, whose representatives are in the ongoing war against Ukraine, are theoretically still in the top group of the World Cup.
However, when they will actually play among the elite remains unclear. It certainly won’t be at the upcoming championships in Prague and Ostrava. The decision on the 2025 WC in Stockholm, Sweden and Herning, Denmark will be made by the IIHF in March next year.
According to journalist Gord Miller of the Canadian station TSN, the return of Russians and Belarusians to the international scene may take many years.
According to the old “regular schedule” of the World Twenty20 Championship, which is held in Europe only once every three years under the contract with TSN, Russia should host the best juniors at the turn of 2031 and 2032. “But at the moment it is extremely unlikely that he it will be made possible,” Miller noted.
He also revealed that at the recent IIHF congress, individual national associations reached an “overwhelming consensus” that “it will take years before the Russians and Belarusians are accepted back, regardless of when and how the war in Ukraine ends.”
Previously, Miller noted, based on backstage interviews, that the return of Russian athletes to the international stage could be conditioned by a fundamental change in the Russian regime.
He also expressed his belief that the matches involving the national team will first have to be played in front of empty stands due to the anti-Russian sentiment of many fans.
Russia does not like the current state of affairs. In the local media, judgments regularly come out that the hockey World Cup without a team has no value.
“The World Championship is now on the same level as the European Games and soon no one will be interested,” the Championat website evaluated the past championship.
The Russian coach and former forward of the overseas NHL, Andrey Nazarov, on the other hand, stated that the world hockey ostracized the team because he is afraid of its triumph: “Personally, I do not understand why the IIHF took hockey away from our country. I think the explanation is ultimately simple: In the West, they are afraid that the Russian team could win the world championship. We would definitely be in the finals. Just a very strange and incomprehensible decision, they are mixing politics with sports.”
As usual, former Soviet representative Alexander Kozhevnikov competed; he was stunned that the Latvians captured the historic bronze. “If Russia had participated, they would not have succeeded 100 percent. Soon Burkina Faso will also be winning medals. A complete nightmare,” he said.
2023-05-30 04:25:24
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