LAUSANNE, January 19, 2021 – The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on Monday announced its decision to strip Minsk, Belarus of the right to co-host the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship “due to safety and security issues that are beyond the IIHF’s control”.
The IIHF said the “unavoidable” decision was reached “following the conclusion of an extensive due diligence process”.
There have been immense pressure on the governing body to move the championship away from Belarus, following the crackdown on protesters in the wake of the disputed re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last year.
Sponsors of the tournament; German motor oil manufacturer Liqui Moly, car manufacturers Skoda and body care brand Nivea Men had threatened to pull out if the championship remained in Belarus.
The IIHF said it consulted independent experts and all stakeholders on the viability of holding the World Championship in Belarus in the face of the “growing safety and security concerns related to both the rising political unrest and COVID-19”, and subsequently met with the Belarusian government.
In the process, the IIHF Council found that “it is currently impossible to ensure the welfare of teams, spectators and officials while holding a World Championship in Belarus.”
“It is a very regrettable thing to have to remove the Minsk/Riga co-hosting bid,” said IIHF President René Fasel. “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 the Belarus and find a positive way forward.”
“And while the Council feels that the World Championship should not be used for political promotion by any side, it has acknowledged that hosting this event in Minsk would not be appropriate when there are bigger issues to deal with and the safety and security of teams, spectators, and officials to prioritize.”
Belarus' opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya welcomed the IIHF's decision. “I welcome @IIHFHockey decision not to host the 2021 World Championship in Minsk,” Tsikhanouskaya tweeted.
“This is a very wise step – to support human rights & fair sport, not to cooperate with the regime in Belarus.
“Together with @BSSFofficial we are grateful that the voices of Belarusians were heard.”
The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) is led by swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia, a three-time Olympic medallist, who said in a statement: “The IIHF decision has restored the Belarusian community's faith in justice. Sporting events cannot be held in countries where violence and torture are used against civilians.”
Latvia has offered to host the entire event. The country’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics tweeted that he welcomes the decision of the IIHF to remove Minsk as co-host, adding that his country would honour its commitment and evaluate how it could host the event alone from May 21 to June 6.
Slovakia and the Czech Republic have both offered to co-host the event alongside Latvia.
Last month the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Lukashenko, who is also the head of the Belarus' National Olympic Committee (NOC) from attending all IOC events and activities, including the Olympic Games, saying the Belarusian authorities had not adequately safeguarded athletes from political discrimination.
