Minsk: The decision of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to transfer the Ice Hockey World Championship from Belarus is allegedly “unfounded”. This is stated in a statement by the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the championship games in Minsk.
“The Organizing Committee for the preparation and holding of the World Ice Hockey Championship in Minsk in 2021 regrets the unreasonable decision of the IIHF to transfer this tournament from Belarus”, - the statement says.
“This decision creates a precedent in which sports competitions designed to unite countries and peoples, promote the establishment of peace and harmony in the spirit of the Olympic principles, can turn into an instrument of discord and pressure to please the interests of politicians”, - the Council of Ministers said.
They also stated that from the moment of obtaining the right to host the tournament, Belarus strictly fulfilled all contractual obligations for organizing the tournament in our country and has already done significant work in this direction. In recent years, our country has established itself as a reliable partner of international federations and sports organizations in holding major international forums. This is evidenced by the holding of the II European Games in 2019, which our country has hospitably received at the request of the European Olympic Committees.
“At the same time, we still believe in the supremacy of the unifying force of sport and in the fact that the international sports community will be able to get out of the influence of political and financial forces, and the hockey family will become even stronger and will not look back at the political ambitions of people, not having anything to do with sports”, - they decided to add there.