The war of the West with our hockey players.
The season of world hockey tournaments has not yet started, but the war with the Russian national team is already in full scale. The reason is the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). On October 30, he obliged the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to admit Russian national teams to the main tournaments - the World Youth Championship in Canada from December 26 and the Senior Championship in Germany in May. The IIHF disagrees with the ruling, but is committed to implementing it.
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Europe presented a united front against the senior championship. Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Latvia announced they would not take the ice against Russia, and Austria joined them later. Germany, the host of the tournament, admits that it will refuse to host it. Czech betting company Tipsport, the official sponsor of the championship, has promised to boycott matches involving Russians.
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The youth championship is still more confusing. The IIHF included Russia in the calendar instead of Norway, as weak in the ranking. The opponents of our group are Switzerland, Latvia, Czech Republic and Canada. The Czech Republic, Latvia and Switzerland refused to play with the Russians, and the host of the tournament, Canada, promises not to let them into the country at all. Prime Minister Mark Carney said no visas would be issued to our hockey players, and Wayne Gretzky supported this decision.
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The Norwegian federation announced that they will not play with Russia, and now their place has been given to us. Norway is hysterical. In Oslo they hope that the final decision has not yet been made, and expect to return if Canada still does not allow the Russians to enter.
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The IIHF has several options left. The first is to let us in and punish the boycotters. In addition to technical defeats (according to the refusal rules it is 5:0), refusers are expected to be fined, removed from the tournament and removed from future competitions. The second is to deny the host country, which does not allow the team, the right to host the tournament, and postpone the championship. The third is to negotiate with Russia for a later return. If the IIHF does not comply with the court's decision, the FHR may appeal to CAS again.
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Is it realistic for our team to perform?