The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) is monitoring the development of the political situation with protests in Belarus and does not exclude the possibility of transferring the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship from Minsk to another country. The vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation Kalervo Kummola told about it to the Finnish edition is.fi.
The games were supposed to be held in the spring in Riga and Minsk, but after political protests and their suppression in Belarus, the question arose about the venue of the tournament, he said.
Kummola spoke about the political and epidemiological situation in Belarus on August 11. After his report, IIHF chairman Rene Fasel said that in two weeks the situation in this country could be assessed.
At the same time, the representative of Belarus argued that politics should not be confused with sports.
The Board of the International Ice Hockey Federation will meet remotely in two weeks.
On August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus, the current head of state Alexander Lukashenko won 80.08% of the vote, opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was supported by 10.09% of voters.
Tikhanovskaya’s headquarters did not recognize the results of the vote, after which unauthorized protests began in Minsk and other cities of Belarus, which resumed in the evening on August 10, 11 and 12. Both civilians and security forces suffered, one person died.