Russian hockey federation will be punished for disrespecting Russian players for their opponent

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation will be punished for the disrespect that the Russian team players showed towards the Canadian team after the final match of the World Cup.

“Lack of respect for your opponent is no good”

The Russian team lost to the Canadian team with an 1: 6 score in the World Cup final, which took place on Sunday in Prague. At the end of the match, before the performance of the Canadian anthem in honor of the victory of the team in the world championship, most of the Russian team hockey players went to the locker room.

“Upon returning from the World Championship, we will discuss this issue and contact the leadership of the Russian Hockey Federation. The IIHF has regulations and a certain punishment will definitely be handed down,” Fasel said.

“When I saw this, I felt great sadness,” said the IIHF president. — In the 29 world championships that I have attended, this is the first such case. What the Russian team did is absolutely unacceptable. Any events can occur on the ice during the game - collisions, fights. But lack of respect for your opponent after the match is no good.”

Some of the Russian players still remained on the court - in particular, Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Viktor Tikhonov, Dmitry Kulikov.

“I saw that Ovechkin and Malkin were trying to stop the other players rushing to the locker room. In this case, the blame cannot be placed on the hockey players themselves. The national team has leadership - the head coach and general manager, who should have been on the ice at this moment and prevented such a situation,” the functionary noted.

“On Sunday I saw something I couldn’t even think of in relation to Russia. I have great respect for your country, I see how they love and develop sports there, so I’m doubly upset. Behavior like this, like after the current final, harms Russia, hockey, and all those involved in our favorite game,” said the head of the IIHF.

“The President watched the match, like all the fans”

The Kremlin is unaware that the Russian hockey team left the ice during the Canadian anthem. This was stated to journalists by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.

“The Kremlin doesn’t know about this,” he said.

Peskov said that “the president watched this match, like all the fans.” Commenting on the outcome of the game, the press secretary of the head of state noted that “second place at the World Championship is also an honor.”

“At the same time, I emphasize that I do not know any assessments (of the president),” he said. - I don’t think there can be any assessments in this case. This is the second strongest team in the world."