“Decision to relocate” – Russia loses the 2023 World Championship over Ukraine as noted by IIHF
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IIHF 2023 World Championship
Governing body International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) noted on Tuesday that 2023’s Ice Hockey World Championship will be moved away from St. Petersburg, due to impending concerns for the player’s well-being and officials after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The tournament was supposed to take place in St. Petersburg from May 5th onwards till the 21st. The federation announced that they will hold an alternate host during the 2022 World Championship which will take place in Finland. In a statement, the IIHF said:
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“The decision to relocate the event was taken primarily out of concern for the safety and well-being of all participating players, officials, media, and fans,”
Russia to lose the 2023 World Championship – IIHF
The IIHF statement further added,
“An alternative host for the World Championship will be confirmed during the 2022 IIHF Annual Congress in Tampere, Finland, which will take place during the final week of the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship,”
TAAS news agency quoted a federation official on Wednesday, that the Russian Hockey Federation will appeal the decision further,
“The council expressed significant concerns over the safe freedom of movement of players and officials to, from, and within Russia.”
In early 2022, the IIHF suspended Russia and Belarusian teams from their competitions until further notice. IIHF revoked Russia’s hosting rights for the 2023 World Junior Championships. Moscow called its action in Ukraine a, “special military operation”, as Belarus is the key platform space for the invasion.
Both St. Petersburg and Moscow co-hosted the 2016 World Championships, where Russia ended up third. As reported on reuters.com, his year it’s going to be held from May 13-29 with Austria and France replacing Russia and Belarus.
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Kaushani Chatterjee
(2141 Articles Published)