Sports
Russia loses ice hockey world cup venue over Ukraine invasion
The official reason for the International Federation's decision cited "safety concerns"
April 26, 2022 2:27pm
Updated: April 27, 2022 12:29pm
Rusia will no longer host the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship, the International Hockey Federation (IIHF) said on Tuesday in a statement. The IIHF Council will change the tournament, which was to be held in St. Petersburg from May 5-21, as part of sanctions against Vladimir Putin's government for the invasion of Ukraine.
"The decision to relocate the event was made primarily out of concern for the safety and well-being of all players, workers, media, and fans attending the World Cup," the IIHF said. "The Council expressed significant concerns about the safe freedom of movement of players and officials to, from, and within Russia."
The IIHF Council has decided to withdraw the hosting rights of the 2023 #IIHFWorlds from Russia.
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) April 26, 2022
More: https://t.co/WZiyUIsmOM pic.twitter.com/XHvwQfNqTr
The 2023 Ice Hockey World Cup was scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg, but the IIHF had also recently withdrawn the hosting rights for next year's World Junior Championships from Russia, making a move consistent with the sanctions promoted against Russian sport.
The move comes as several Russian athletes have shown support for the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. The latest came from two ice hockey league teams, SKA Neftyanik and Dynamo Moscow. Players from the two teams, which are close to the Kremlin regime, arranged themselves on the rink, creating a "Z" like the one painted on Russian tanks and combat equipment, which has already started to generate so much controversy in the sport.
The 2023 IIHF World Men's Hockey Championship will be moved out of Russia, the IIHF Council announced Tuesday: https://t.co/zfc9LGyaSj#TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/ychfUHHa1d
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) April 26, 2022
Additionally, the International Federation claimed that it would decide on a new host for this year's world championships in Finland, to be held next month. Russia and Belarus cannot compete there due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
