Director General of the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) Dmitry Kurbatov said that after the decision of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to send the Israeli national teams back to the tournaments, the FHR had the opportunity to raise the issue of admitting the Russian team.
The IIHF temporarily suspended Israeli teams from tournaments on January 10 “due to concerns over the safety of competitors.” On January 17, the IIHF authorized the Israeli team to participate in the World Junior Championship (under 20) in the third division.
— Israel began playing internationally with New Zealand. 30 supporters came to watch the match. Does this give hope that the Russian national team will also return soon? The IIHF reversed its decision within six days.
“Perhaps a window of opportunity is opening to re-examine our case. » At one point, we protested against Russia’s withdrawal, relying on the principles of the Olympic Charter and what was enshrined in the statutory documents of the international federation. He says there should be no discrimination based on nationality or any other grounds. And finally we were eliminated, as they say, asymmetrically. Additionally, they mentioned some sort of security issue.
We had such an argument that the IIHF should spend more on security, and that Russia would even offset these costs. But in the end, everything didn’t work out. And formally, the IIHF, as the organizer of the competition, has the right to make such decisions based on such reasons. But in this situation, a different decision was made regarding Israel. We can therefore try to use this case as a precedent. On the other hand, they have an unprecedented law in the IIHF. And they can answer in the spirit: “You don’t understand, it’s different.” »
— There is always an unprecedented level of security at the Olympic Games. Does this mean we have a better chance of going to the Olympics than the World Championships?
— There are currently active consultations between the IIHF and the NHL regarding the Olympic Games. Maybe not everyone knows this, but in fact the IOC hires the IIHF to host the Olympic tournament. And in this sense, it has a separate status compared to other competitions.
Consultations are currently underway. We don’t know what they will lead to. But information will appear in February. And if it is decided that the NHL will go to the Olympics, there could be a wide variety of decisions on whether or not Russian players will return. From a business point of view, the NHL should be present in Russia. “And how will they solve this story? Let’s stock up on popcorn,” Kurbatov said for .
The national teams of Russia and Belarus have been suspended from international competitions for an indefinite period due to the situation in Ukraine since the end of February 2022.
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
