The ice hockey world championship will not take place in autocratic Belarus.
Dealing with the corona pandemic and the unrest in the country were decisive for the decision.
The
2021 Ice Hockey World Championship is scheduled
to take place from May 21 to June 6.
The tournament will
not
take place
in
Belarus
as planned
, as the world association IIHF decided on Monday.
Now
Latvia
could host the World Cup on its own, Denmark is also a candidate.
After a long period of hesitation by the
World Ice Hockey Federation IIHF, there
is now certainty about the World Cup.
Originally, the World Cup would have also
taken place
in
Belarus
that year
, but the association withdrew the host's role as co-host at the tournament.
The reason for this is how the
corona pandemic is being dealt with
in the autocratic country.
Ice hockey World Cup: Belarus no longer host country - sponsors put pressure on
In the end, the decision on withdrawal was "inevitable", as the IIHF announced on Monday.
The World Federation decided the
capital, Minsk
, and thus also the most controversial rulers
Alexander Lukashenko
on the orientation of the World Cup games
excluded
.
Due to pressure from some sponsors, the association was pushed to take the drastic measure.
Main sponsor
Skoda
and the motor oil manufacturer
Liqui Moly
had already threatened to withdraw if Belarus were to continue to host the World Cup.
Many political and sport-political voices, including co-host Latvia, criticized the award of the tournament.
The IIHF justified the decision officially with its "duty of care" towards the participants of the world championship with a view to the corona pandemic and the protests in the country.
The association spoke of "growing security concerns in connection with the increasing
political
unrest
and
COVID-19
".
After his controversial election, Lukashenko and his security forces brutally attacked demonstrators last summer, and the dictatorial country has been
accused of
violating human
rights.
Ice hockey World Cup: Denmark or Latvia as host?
DEB praise for decision
Now the decision has been made as to why
Latvia
could host the tournament from May 21 to June 6 without a second host country.
The world association is now examining "the possibility of changing to a format with only one venue in order to facilitate the safety regulations for COVID-19 and the travel of the teams," said the IIHF.
Also
Denmark
is currently traded as a substitute venue, according to SID.
The decision was praised by
the
German Ice Hockey Federation
(DEB).
President Franz Reindl described them as “well considered, consistent and logical”, as Belarus could not guarantee the necessary conditions for a World Cup host country.
(ajr)
