The Ice Hockey World Championship this year is held without the participation of the Russian national team, the team, together with the team from Belarus, has been suspended from the tournament.
But already the first two days of the competition did not pass without the mention of domestic athletes and scandals on the basis of the symbols of the countries.
Representatives of Finland, the hosts of the tournament, are especially active.
So, on Saturday, journalist Juuni Nieminen sarcastically reacted to the departure of "Washington" from the Stanley Cup.
In the first round of the NHL playoffs, the Capitals lost to Florida by a score of 2-4 in the series.
A correspondent on social networks laughed at the captain of the "capital" Alexander Ovechkin, who spent one of the best seasons in the overseas league.
And it was his arrival in the national team that the fans were always waiting for during the world championship.
Finn wrote: “Now Ovi can play for Russia in the World Cup!!
Wait... what?
And two days before the start of the World Cup, a video tour of the Nokia Arena in Tampere was posted on the team's official YouTube account.
The staff and players told and showed how the life of the national team works - a kitchen, a room for rest, for sharpening skates, a sauna, and so on.
Finnish viewers noticed an unusual flag on the ceiling of the locker room - on it, a horizontal strip of a cross on the right side ends with a sharp "tongue".
In accordance with the law of the country, this symbol is used by the headquarters, troops, units and ships of the Ministry of Defense.
According to Finnish team administrator Miku Kortelainen, the flag has been hanging for six years.
It is treated with care and even removed during the celebrations so as not to accidentally get dirty.
According to the specialist, the government knows about this, and no one has ever asked the symbol to be removed.
However, in the current political situation, the appearance of military symbols in the locker room of the Finnish national team caused indignation on the part of the sports community.
According to two-time Olympic champion Alexander Kozhevnikov, the International Ice Hockey Federation should look into the situation, since only state flags and signs are allowed at the World Championships.
“But the players have nothing to do with it.
Finland has a scoundrel hockey federation - what else can I say.
The scoundrels have made themselves a gift, let them rejoice, ”the RB Sport specialist quotes.
The ex-coach of the Russian national team Vladimir Plushev said that perhaps in this way the team wants to give itself importance and raise the spirit of the Vikings.
“If they still put horns on the helmet, they will look serious.
In general, well, they hung out this flag - their problem.
It's the public or the IIHF that should somehow react if they accept which flag belongs to which.
Indeed, it’s strange, they are depriving us of the flag, but here the guys, if it’s true “the flag of war”, are they either popularizing the war or trying to go to war with us or something.
It's funny to me, to be honest.
It seems that Thatcher said: “There is no need to anger Russia, we will spit, they will wipe themselves off.
They will spit, we will drown.”
Let the IIHF deal with them, nevertheless, it looks defiant, and not very smart, ”Plyushchev said in an interview with Sport-Express.
In Finland, they acknowledge the mistake.
Special expert of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country Janne Juujärvi believes that it is necessary to change the flag in the locker room of the hockey team.
He is also sure that a clear briefing will help prevent this in the future.
Nevertheless, the hostility towards Russia on the part of the Scandinavians is already affecting the policy of the clubs of the Continental Hockey League, in which many representatives of the northern countries previously played.
Because of the statements of journalists and athletes, flags and everything else, it is possible that even after the change in the situation in the world, there will be no more hockey players from these states in the KHL.
Avangard general manager Alexei Volkov, for example, said at a press conference that he did not want to cooperate with Finnish and Swedish players in the future.
“I think everything is clear here.
Both the Finns and the Swedes themselves expressed their position.
The masks have been torn off, so I have no desire to continue cooperation with them, since they can fail at any moment and do not hide their world position, ”said the functionary.