The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) made a decision to relocate the World Cup from Belarus, as the IIHF reported.
On January 18, the meeting of the IIHF council took place and it was decided to move the championship. The new place of the event will be defined later. Latvia is another organizer of the World Cup.
Last week, IICH President René Fasel arrived in Belarus. Due to the escalation of the political situation in the country, the visit was perceived by the world society ambiguously and sponsors have started to refuse the 2021 World Cup. Liqui Moly, Nivea, and Škoda refused from sponsorship contract.
“It is a very regrettable thing to have to remove the Minsk/Riga co-hosting bid. During this process, we had tried to promote that the World Championship could be used as a tool for reconciliation to help calm the socio-political issues happening in Belarus and find a positive way forward,” IICH President René Fasel said.
Fasel stated that Belarus would be able to hold a championship on hockey when the situation in the country stabilizes.
Protest actions in Minsk and other cities in Belarus have been running for six months. People stand against the results of the presidential election that took place in August. Back then, the Central Election Committee announced that Alexander Lukashenko won the race. The Belarusian opposition did not recognize these results; neither do the EU and the U.S.
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