"The mood of the stewardesses was immediately visible": the hockey players of the Russian youth team commented on the withdrawal from the flight to Calgary

The Russian youth team returned from the World Youth Championship, which was stopped due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The plane with the hockey players landed on January 2 at the Sheremetyevo airport.

Everyone returned home, except for the attackers Matvey Michkov and Danila Yurov, who passed positive tests for COVID-19.

Together with the players, the doctor of the national team remained in Canada.

The athletes were supposed to arrive a day earlier - on January 1, but the team was removed from the flight from Calgary to Frankfurt.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation explained that the reason for disembarking from the plane could be incorrectly worn, according to representatives of the airline, medical masks. 

After landing, the hockey players willingly talked to journalists and told in detail their version of what happened.

Defender Shakir Mukhamadullin noted that there were very strict coronavirus restrictions in Calgary, and everyone closely monitored the position of the masks on the face.

“The attitude of the flight attendants and the entire staff was immediately visible.

We looked at the slightest violations, a different position of the mask was already a violation, they could even come up with shouts and ask why without a mask.

Everything was calm, we got on the plane, sat for about 30 minutes, waited for loading, then they began to get up and leave.

We did not understand what had happened, but then we said: we didn’t like the behavior of the athletes, since the masks were not fully worn.

They took us and the Czechs out, and the Finns flew away.

It is not clear why, but we will be angrier, "- quotes the words of Mukhamadullin" Championship ".

According to the captain of the national team Marat Khusnutdinov, many who have not been abroad simply do not understand how serious they are about wearing masks.

“Even if in a dream it subsides, the person will wake you up or even raise his voice and repeat over and over again to put it on normally.

Then patience ends and action is taken, ”the hockey player explained.

The head coach of the Russian youth team, Sergei Zubov, also told his version of what happened.

According to him, it was all about the masks. 

“The stewardesses at the time of boarding the plane were attentive to all the requirements.

Corrected the guys so that the masks were correctly put on.

In Canada, the rules for wearing masks are very strictly regulated, it's like a crime.

It was decided that all the passengers of the plane would be taken to the waiting room, ”the specialist noted.

Immediately after unloading the luggage, the Russian delegation held negotiations with the airline employees, and the national team received permission to board the next flight.

At the same time, the mentor once again denied the information that someone smoked on the plane or was drunk.

“According to my information, each member of our delegation was inspected by Air Canada and all, again, were allowed on the next flight.

Nothing has changed on it, we were also heavily checked for the presence of masks.

We quietly got to Toronto, some to Montreal, as there were not enough seats for one flight.

After that we met in Frankfurt and returned here safely, "Zubov explained.

Forward Ivan Didkovsky also noted that no comments were made to anyone during the landing, and drunks would simply not be allowed on board.

“This is a huge plane, I can't speak for everyone.

But I think drunk people would not be allowed on board.

No one ran down the aisle, "RIA Novosti quotes the athlete.

If at the Calgary airport the restrictions related to the coronavirus were very serious, then at the hotel where the national team lived, on the contrary, they were insufficient: according to defender Vladimir Grudinin, the athletes had a lot of contact with other people.

“It seems to me that this is a little wrong.

I think it would be better to make a bubble in the summer and focus on hockey, ”the player expressed his opinion.

Goalkeeper Yaroslav Askarov voiced the assumption that the source of the spread of the coronavirus could be a hairdresser and restaurants that worked on the territory of the hotel.

“There was no other way to get the coronavirus.

We did not play with the Finns, who arrived not quite healthy, but the rest of the teams were doing well, ”TASS quotes Askarov.

Zubov even said that the hotel hosted various events not related to the tournament.

Previously, journalists wrote about weddings.  

“Of course, I have an opinion (on the cancellation of the World Youth Championship. -

), but we have officials, they, I think, will be able to answer this question more specifically.

There were problems in the hotel where we all lived in one heap.

There were also many residents who were completely unrelated to hockey.

Of course, this complicated everything, "RIA Novosti quotes Zubov.

At the same time, the specialist admitted that he would be happy to work with this team in the summer, if the youth world championship still takes place, as promised by IIHF President Luc Tardiff.

In Calgary, the domestic team managed to play only two matches, losing to Sweden (3: 6) and defeating Switzerland (4: 2). 

“If I get a chance, I will gladly do it again.

Great group of guys….

We saw the potential of the team, we went up.

It was obvious, we were looking forward to the game with Slovakia.

But, again, this is how the circumstances developed, ”Zubov added.