Lawlessness and neo-Nazism: Russia demanded to move the MCM from Canada after a total ban

Canada on Wednesday said it would not allow Russian athletes and officials to enter the country to participate in the World Youth Hockey Championships. In fact, this closes the tournament to the Russians a few weeks before it starts. This was announced by Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Couverden. “The Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship will take measures to individually assess and prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering Canada to participate in competitions – regardless of whether they already have valid visas,” the statement said.

In other words, a pre-issued hockey visa no longer guarantees anything. Van Couverden said: Canada opposes the participation of Russia and Belarus in international sports. Separately closed loophole with neutral status. In early November, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would not allow Russian athletes to compete for their country on Canadian soil. Some observers took it as an abandoned door: they say, without the flag and anthem, the team will be able to play. Canada allows neutral status only for individual athletes, but not for the national team as a team.

The Ice Hockey Federation of Canada said it had nothing to add to its previous statement in support of the government's position. The national team of Belarus will not play at the championship - by a separate decision of the IIHF. At the end of October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered the International Ice Hockey Federation to allow Russian teams to the next five championships, starting with youth. The IIHF, which suspended Russia from most international competitions after the start of hostilities in 2022, said it disagreed with the verdict, but acknowledged the court's authority and pledged to comply with it.

Now the world federation is caught between the verdict of the arbitration and the position of the host country. The legal trap is that the CAS decision is mandatory for the IIHF, but not for the Canadian government: Ottawa is not a party to the sports litigation and decides issues of entry into its territory on its own. How to comply with the arbitration order in these conditions, the Federation has not yet explained. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation demanded from the IIHF one of two: either to ensure the participation of the Russian national team in the tournament in Canada, or to move the championship to another country where Russian hockey players will be able to go on the ice.

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Two-time Olympic champion Alexander Kozhevnikov compared the actions of the Canadian authorities with the policy of the fascists and supported the idea of moving the tournament. “This is a real fascist policy. Now the IIHF has to think about what to do about it. It would be fair for everyone to move the championship to another country if we are looking for the truth. This cannot be allowed, Kozhevnikov said.

Another well-known domestic hockey player, Olympic champion Valery Kamensky called what was happening lawlessness and demanded a tough position from the IIHF. The IIHF should force the Canadian authorities to allow the participation of the Russian team. Laws must be implemented, especially the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The desire not to let the team in is lawlessness. In any case, we need to prepare for the tournament, play there, Kamensky said.

He considers the transfer of the championship a month and a half before the start a solvable question: This is a purely technical issue. The United States, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan could host the World Youth Championship matches. To cancel the tournament as a whole, according to him, it is impossible: First of all, hockey players, IIHF and Canadians themselves will suffer. We need to sit down and negotiate. I do not understand why the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport is not being implemented.”.

The harshest wording came from the Foreign Ministry. The official representative of the Ministry Maria Zakharova called the refusal of Canada neo-Nazism. "Neo-Nazism as it is!" They have long lost the moral right to organize this tournament, Zakharova said.

The World Cup will be held from December 26 to January 5. Time for a political settlement remains less and less: the calendar of the tournament is shortened, and the transfer to another country for such a period will require not only the decision of the IIHF, but also new hosts, ready to take ten teams in the midst of the club season, with other arenas, logistics and tickets.