Hockey players of the Russian youth team Egor Surin, Vadim Dudorov and Pyotr Andreyanov regretted that their refusal to receive awards at the Future Cup tournament could be considered a lack of respect for the organizers.
In the decisive match of the tournament, the Russian U-18 team lost to the youth team of Belarus in overtime with a score of 5: 6. At the award ceremony, the team’s forward Russian national Vadim Dudorov and goalkeeper Pyotr Andreyanov left the awards for the best players of the tournament on the ice in their roles, and captain Egor Surin did the same with the team award for second place.
— We, players of the Russian U-18 junior team, appreciate the opportunity to play at the international level against the national teams of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the conditions that the Belarusian Hockey Federation creates for our team in Minsk every time. We regret that our actions regarding awards during the ceremony after the match against the Belarusian national team in the Future Cup tournament could be considered disrespectful.
Our action was determined by the emotional state after the match, which was influenced by a number of refereeing decisions (which we considered controversial), including during overtime – the most tense moment of the match. We have great respect for the opponent and the host organization, therefore we participated in the ceremony until the end and shook hands with the hockey players of the Belarusian national team. We are confident that our teams will have many bright and memorable matches that will contribute to the development of our sport in both countries,” says the joint statement of hockey players published by the press service of the FHR.
The Russian Hockey Federation expressed its concern over this episode.
“We are studying all the circumstances that led to the misunderstanding associated with the decision of the players of the junior hockey team to leave the team and individual awards on the ice. The FHR notes that all other procedures associated with the post-match ceremony were followed by the Russian team: post-match handshake and listening to the anthem of the Republic of Belarus, and also states that She doesn’t like the behavior of hockey players. junior team players and provides a statement from the team players, the FHR added.
The Belarusian U‑20 team took first place in the Future Cup with 6 points. The Russian U-18 team came second, with the top three being completed by the Russian team made up of players aged under 17. Kazakhstan’s youth team also participated in the tournament.
Source : MatchTV
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