Russian ice hockey team flies into the 2021 World Championships

MOSCOW, March 1, Dmitry Kurbatov, Executive Director of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, said that the Russian National Men’s Ice Hockey Team will play the 2021 World Ice Hockey Championship under the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF) or the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) flag. Monday.

According to the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Russian athletes are prohibited from participating in the World Championships and Olympic Games under the national flag and rhythms of the national anthem until December 2022.

“When we talk about the World Championships, I have to say that everything is fine,” Kurbatov told reporters. <...> Our two athletes will participate in this tournament. “You will represent your club [RHF] Or the [Russian] Olympic committee “.

“Since the emblem of the Republic of China has three colors,” Korbatov added. <...> There will be no doubt about which country the team is playing in. “

The IIHF 2021 (International Ice Hockey Federation) tournament will take place in the Latvian capital, Riga, from May 21 to June 6.

The main venue will be the Riga Arena. It will host the second group and two matches of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and medals round. The second place is the Olympic Sports Center, which will be converted into an ice rink with a capacity of 6000 people and will host the first group and the quarter-finals. All 16 participating national teams will be accommodated in one hotel.

The Russian national team belongs to Group A, along with national teams from Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark, Belarus and Great Britain. The second group includes Canada, Finland, the United States, Germany, Latvia, Norway and Italy. And Kazakhstan.

Russia will start its journey to the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship on May 21 with a match against longtime rival from the Czech Republic.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, upheld the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on December 17. [the World Anti-Doping Agency] Previous ruling on a set of sanctions against Russian sports.

After the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Russian athletes were deprived of the right to participate in all world championships, Olympic Games and Paralympics under the Russian national flag for a period of two years from December 17, 2020.

The Russian national anthem has also been excluded from the international sporting championships for the next two years, including the upcoming Japanese Olympic Games this year.

The ruling of the Swiss-based court also deprived Russia of its right to present all international sporting championships for a period of two years. The World Anti-Doping Agency sanctions are in effect until December 2022.