Consequences in ice hockey: new explosives around Russia and Belarus

Anyone who heard Luc Tardif speaking in Tampere over the weekend could have thought that everything was about to change for the better in the ice hockey world.

"For the first time since 2019 in Bratislava we played in front of fans, in front of fantastic fans," said the President of World Federation IIHF.

The World Cup in Finland, which ended on Sunday and which the hosts won in a dramatic final against Canada, was a “comeback for our passion”.

You could sign that for Tampere, where the hosts made sure the stands were full.

But in Helsinki, where the German group played, there were rarely more than 4,000 fans in the hall.

What the head of organization Heikki Hietanen explained with the uncertain Corona situation: "When we started international ticket sales in September, there were still travel restrictions."

Russia 'disagrees'

But that was only half the truth.

The main reason was the fact that the usually biggest group of fans was not there: that of the Russian team.

It was excluded because of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and for the first time since 1954 an ice hockey world championship was held without Russians.

And that will also be the case next year, as the IIHF announced after its congress: in 2023 Russia and its ally Belarus will be watching again.

"We waited as long as possible to extend the suspension, expecting the situation to improve, but that didn't happen," Tardif said.

The Russian Ice Hockey Association immediately ruled, saying that they "did not agree" with the decision and that there was "no legal basis" for it.

When sport and politics belong together or when they should be separated, people in Russia are flexible as usual.

And ice hockey in particular is a national thing there.

It hurt all the more when the Russians were withdrawn from hosting the 2023 World Cup.

This week the IIHF reassigned the tournament - again to Tampere and the Latvian capital Riga.

Which, in view of the political situation, harbors new fuel.

Finland wants to join NATO, which Russia sees as a provocation, and relations between Riga and Moscow have been strained for years.

Doesn't he worry about playing so close to the Russian border again?

"No," Tardif replied.

It's "no more dangerous" in Latvia and you can't control what's happening in the world anyway.

He was "confident" about the 2023 World Cup, spoke of a "level of security".

The world association had no alternatives anyway.

Hungary (along with Slovenia) was the only competitor to withdraw due to a lack of government support.

In addition, time is of the essence: Normally, an A-WM needed four years in advance.

So now you go back to the organizers of 2021 (Latvia) and 2022 (Finland).

They still have the necessary structures and experience to “organize something like this in a short time,” said Tardif, for whose association failure is not an option.

The IIHF finances all world championships, which are played in a promotion and relegation format, with the income from the annual top tournament.

Money is an issue in the third year of Corona anyway: the World Cup in Switzerland was canceled in 2020, which could still be offset by insurance.

But in 2021 Latvia played without fans, which is one of the reasons why Riga was awarded the contract to try again in front of an audience in 2023.

How much came around in Finland, before Corona, a World Cup threw around 20 million Swiss francs, there was no information on that.

Harri Nummela, president of the Finnish association, only spoke of "a few million" profit.

How did it go for the world association?

Certainly worse than in previous years.

The IIHF now advertised itself in the places on the boards where Russian company logos are normally seen: for its World Cup hashtag on social media and for the Champions League, in which it is a shareholder.

Experts assume that Western sponsors also paid less than usual because a tournament without Sbornaja does not attract millions of Russian fans in front of the television as usual.

When will that change again?

The IIHF did not present a schedule.

As of now, it is not even clear how Russia and Belarus are to be reintegrated.

They are not relegated, their starting right was only "frozen", says Tardif.

If they can play again, then at the A World Cup.

Which is a "dilemma" for the IIHF, as this year they had "filled up" all tournaments from A to E World Championships.

So it could be that before the return of Russia and Belarus there will be no climbers from the B World Cup, maybe there will simply be two more teams, then it would be 18. But Tardif doesn't seem to have sleepless nights because of that: "That solving will be a good problem.”