Lausanne (AFP)
Latvia will host the world ice hockey championships on its own in the spring, after Belarus is forced to withdraw from its role as co-organizer, the International Disciplinary Federation (IIHF) announced on Tuesday.
In Riga, the competition scheduled for May 21 to June 6 will be concentrated in two enclosures 150 meters apart and the 16 selections will be housed in the same hotel, to "avoid travel" in times of health crisis, explains the Council of the instance in a press release.
"Maintaining the tournament in one country allows us to be flexible. We can find economical solutions to deploy a + bubble +, but we can also organize ourselves to welcome supporters if the situation allows it", explains René Fasel, the boss. of the IIHF, in a statement.
The competition is for the time scheduled behind closed doors, but in the event of a health improvement such as "spectators can be admitted", the organizers will put tickets on sale "within three days" of the government green light.
To entrust its queen competition to the Baltic state alone, the IIHF rejected the proposals "of Bratislava, in Slovakia, and Herning, in Denmark".
Lithuania had also offered to lend a hand to its neighbor.
Under pressure from opponents and sponsors who denounce political repression in Belarus, the IIHF resigned itself on January 18 to withdrawing the co-organization of the tournament from Minsk, which promised to be a showcase for its president Alexander Lukashenko.
The hockey body had referred to "growing concerns in matters of safety and security, linked both to the rise of political unrest and to Covid-19", without being more specific.
In the process, the Belarusian government had said "regret" this "unfounded" decision, believing that the IIHF and its main trading partners had "become the victims of political games".
© 2021 AFP