Plyushchev: “For some reason we consider ourselves the first power in hockey, even if there have been no victories for a long time”

Athletistic/Hockey. Vladimir Plyushchev, the former head coach of the Russian national team, has expressed his opinion on the appointment of the former president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) René Fasel as head of the commission of refereeing of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He also noted the Russian team’s lack of significant success on the international stage.

Plushev noted that the talks on Fasel’s appointment had been going on for a long time and had been commented on mostly positively. However, it is not entirely clear to him for what specific purposes this was done. There are people in the judicial structure who are able to deal with these issues and who have the appropriate competence. Although Fazel is a nice and charming person who has always supported Russian hockey, they have different mentalities and there is also a language barrier. It is not yet clear if Fasel has a specific program or reform plans. Maybe it’s more of an image story, where a big name plays a bigger role than real issues.

Plushev also noted that hockey is following in the footsteps of football, including when it comes to referee heads. He pointed out that hockey is now repeating what football has already gone through, but at the same time, neither hockey nor football are making serious progress. He noted that Russia still sees itself as one of the world’s leading powerhouses in hockey, although it hasn’t scored any major victories for a long time. At the same time, national teams that were previously considered weak are now showing great results, such as Switzerland, Denmark and Germany. Plushev believes that until there is an open and honest discussion about the problems of Russian hockey, the situation will remain unchanged.

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