Former defender of KHL clubs Nikita Shchitov told that he would like to rely on common sense on the issue of admitting the Russian national team to the 2026 Olympic Games.
Earlier it became known that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) provisionally included the Russian national team among the participants in the group stage of the 2026 Olympic Games. If admitted to the tournament, the Russians will play in Group C alongside the American team. It should be noted that the Russian team has a “theoretical seeding if the decision is made to return to tournaments under the auspices of the IIHF.” The other two participants in the quartet with Russia and the United States are still unknown – they will be determined after the qualifying tournament.
— It would be great if the team was allowed to participate in the Olympics. The IIHF is an incomprehensible organization, what they think… Their goal is politics, removing our team was their first task. If they come to their senses or if the government changes, I would like our athletes to participate. I would like to hope for common sense, athletes have nothing to do with politics. You cannot treat athletes the same way our guys are treated today all over the world,” Shchitov told .
The 2026 Winter Olympics will take place in February in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy).
The IIHF suspended Russian and Belarusian teams from participation in competitions under its auspices at the end of February 2022.
Source : MatchTV
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