Russia lost the organization of the 2023 Men’s World Championship due to the conflict in Ukraine, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on Tuesday.
Out of concern for the safety and well-being of all players, officials, media and supporters, the IIHF decided to withdraw the organization of the 2023 World Cup from Russia.explained in a press release the Zurich, Switzerland -based body.
For the same reason, the International Federation removed from Russia in early April the organization of the 2023 World Juniors, which will be held in Omsk and Novosibirsk.
Of course, this decision is not fair, although there is hope that the IIHF leadership will become more mature and start thinking for the interest of the sport. It is a shame that the new president of the organization, Luc Tardif, started by killing hockeyValery Kamensky, a member of the board of directors of the Russian Hockey Federation, told the Ria Novosti news agency.
We have no right to give up and we have no plans to do that.
The IIHF awarded the men’s world championship to Russia in 2018, and the competition will take place from May 5 to 21, 2023 in Saint Petersburg. The country was suspended by the International Federation following the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The new host nation will be announced at the IIHF Annual Congress in Tampere, Finland, in the last week of Worlds 2022 (May 13-29).
Source: Radio-Canada