“We intend to continue to honor the contracts of players from other countries and leagues.” Interview with KHL head Alexei Morozov

On Tuesday, a meeting was held between the KHL management and the league clubs on amendments to the Federal Law “On Physical Culture and Sports”. The KHL will remain in the Russian hockey system and will interact directly with the Ministry of Sports, thereby gaining independence from the International Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the Russian Hockey Federation. The KHL also sent a letter to the FHR with a proposal to terminate the agreement on the delegation of rights to host national championships on the terms previously agreed with the FHR. The KHL will continue to provide targeted funding to the FHR for the development of children’s, youth and women’s hockey.

turned to KHL President Alexei Morozov for more details.

— How did the KHL clubs perceive the changes? On the one hand, innovations were expected, on the other hand, the content was somewhat revolutionary.

— It is not revolutionary, everything was leading to this. In 2023, the president ordered to develop and discuss amendments to the sports law in order to find new opportunities for development, because our athletes are excluded from most international competitions and many decisions are politicized.

As a commercial league, we have been developing and growing for the past 16 years, as evidenced by the influx of fans into our sport. Having the opportunity to run our own league independent of international federations will only help us grow and popularize hockey.

— The KHL has been under the jurisdiction of the FHR since its creation. Why were changes necessary now?

— One of the goals of sports development in Russia is the depoliticization of international sports. Many international federations now prohibit Russian athletes and our national teams from participating in international competitions. By leaving the sphere of influence of the IIHF, we will be more independent in decisions and promotion of our sport in the country and in the world.

The FHR has its own tasks aimed at popularizing mass, women’s and children’s sports. We do not disconnect, but we go in parallel, developing hockey together. The KHL solves a whole range of problems at the professional level, but does not forget about the preparation of the reserve. Our regulations, as before, will stipulate that each club must have a youth sports school with at least eight different ages.

At the same time, we will leave the IIHF jurisdiction and start moving in our own direction. In particular, approving the rules of the hockey game at the Ministry of Sports.

The task is interesting, we are ready for it. Since the law now allows it, we assume this responsibility.

— The KHL will allow players to play in the league without issuing transfer cards. Why is this necessary and from what date does the amendment come into force?

“We hope that everything will be settled by August. In the future, a transfer card will really no longer be necessary, since we will become an independent league from the IIHF.

Previously, everything worked through the FHR international department. Clubs sent an application, and our federation, in turn, applied to the IIHF for the player’s status, paying for a transfer card in case of a transfer to another international competition. Now, after all the changes come into force, clubs will be able to register a player without a transfer card. At the same time, the KHL will not register new contracts for hockey players who have existing agreements with other clubs or unfulfilled obligations, as well as other circumstances preventing the signing of a new contract. We intend, as before, to respect the contracts of players from other countries and leagues. There is an example of interaction between the KHL and the NHL: no protocol has been signed between us, but there are agreements on mutual respect for contracts and no incidents have occurred in recent years. We are open to dialogue with other professional leagues.

— Is the KHL management convinced that the IIHF will not be able to prevent the transfer of players from foreign leagues, given that registration will now be done without a transfer card?

“We have looked at this issue from a legal perspective and see no obstacles.” There is simply no regulatory basis for IIHF sanctions. There is an example of how the IIHF communicates with the NHL, which is also not under the auspices of the International Hockey Federation.

However, I cannot fully answer on behalf of other organisations. We know very well what happens when our teams are not allowed to participate in international tournaments, including at youth level.

— In the league, only CSKA has a ban on international transfers by the IIHF; the military team cannot send players back from abroad; Was it worth changing the rules so radically because of one club?

– This is absolutely not true. There are 23 clubs in the league and we protect the rights of each of them. If we recall the situation with Ivan Fedotov, the club, the league and the federation acted in accordance with Russian legislation, defending the right of every citizen to work. We still believe that we did everything right and simply could not have done it otherwise.

Such cases could very well have happened to hockey players from other teams. Now that we have become more independent, we will be able to independently determine the status of players. We will now be freer to make decisions and consider discussing such situations with the Ministry of Sports.

— This is essentially a break in the established transfer system and relations with the IIHF. Is there a fear that European leagues and the NHL will start attracting players from Russian clubs with existing contracts in response?

— We are ready for dialogue. We have already worked with the NHL, why should they suddenly change the rules if they themselves are not under the auspices of the IIHF?

We have an interesting and developing league, many want to return to Russia from abroad. The number of foreign players for each KHL team has increased and there are free places. If players are lured, it will not benefit anyone. With the right approach to transfer agreements and compliance with the contracts of athletes and leagues, we do not see any problems here.

— Will there be attempts to conclude a memorandum of understanding with European leagues: Swedish, Finnish, Czech, etc.?

— We are ready for negotiations, discussions, additional memoranda. We are an independent league, what can stop us?

— Will the changes affect the mechanism of moving players between KHL and VHL teams, which remain under the jurisdiction of the FHR?

– We want to preserve – and there are agreements that we will preserve – the vertical that currently exists: children’s and youth sports, NMHL, MHL, VHL, KHL. So that players can play in Russia within these leagues.

But if players come from another country, they will have to obtain a transfer card to participate in the VHL. Because these competitions will take place under the auspices of the FHR, which is a member of the IIHF.

— That is to say, it is better not to lead to a situation in which foreign players would be “exiled” in the Major League?

— Yes, we will have to be more precise in the choice of foreign players (smiles).

— Will the working conditions of judges change, for example will their salaries be increased?

— We always monitor this component and inflation. There is a system by which referees receive grades for their work, this goes into their grade, and according to this grade they are selected for the playoff games, where there are good bonuses. I don’t know why there were rumors about this this year.

The best VHL referees will continue to be offered contracts in the KHL. The refereeing department will continue to carry out certification and testing of candidates; there will be no major changes here. One of the changes regarding refereeing is that the video analysis center will now be fully under the jurisdiction of the KHL. Everything will be ready for the season.

— Are there any differences from the FHR Video Viewing Room, or will the same features be carried over?

– It will be different, and significantly. With completely different rules. We want the center to work differently; the corresponding task was assigned to Alexei Anisimov. The room will not be located in the KHL offices, and the rules for communicating with other people will be stricter. Before the start of the season, we want to present the system in more detail and talk about it.

— The KHL is a modern league and almost every year it introduces new nuances that take root. Will the innovations affect the rules?

— This year, changes to the rules are also being considered. As soon as they are approved by the Ministry of Sports, Alexey Anisimov will tell them in detail.

— From now on, the KHL will accredit agents independently. Are there plans to accredit foreign agents working, including in the NHL? For example, Paul Theofanos.

— I know such an agent, I spoke with him, but I don’t know if Theofanos has ever been accredited in Russia (smiles). We have two agents, Alex Pilko and Shumi Babaev, who have Russian and American accreditation.

In any case, we will strictly implement the President’s instructions to create additional measures to improve the activities of sports agents.

We will communicate closely with the agents’ association; last year we concluded a cooperation agreement with them and held several meetings. Let’s discuss it and see what they think.

— Will it be more difficult or easier to obtain an agent license?

— To get an agent license and work properly, you need to know the KHL regulations. So that the player can be protected in the legal field.

We have a pool of agents who have been working in the KHL for a long time and have proven themselves. We are thinking about introducing some kind of agent rating for the season. This will also help our juniors, who have to choose who to collaborate with in the future. The KHL considers it right to develop in Russia, since all the conditions are now created for this, a clear vertical has been built – from children’s sports to professional sports.

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