Who doesn’t like Belarus the most in sports?

The law that breathes, where you turn, there and went

The start of November was very hot and sometimes discouraging in hockey. Moreover, we are talking about the turmoil with a hint of collapse, which was caused by the sensational decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which considered the claim of the FHR (Russian Hockey Federation).

As you can guess, the subject of the trial was the sanctions imposed in the spring of 2022 not only against the FHRB, but also against the FHRB (Ice Hockey Federation of the Republic of Belarus). However, in order not to get confused in the vicissitudes of events, a chronological approach is applicable. So, on October 30, the judges of the arbitration unanimously satisfied the appeal of the FHR and canceled the ban on the participation of Russian teams in international tournaments. The motivation behind the CAS decision is that the IIHF has never provided sufficient evidence of the security threats it cited.

Let’s focus on this extremely important nuance for Belarusian interests! The Lausanne court dismissed the hypocritical argument “IIHF cares about the safety of the Russians themselves” as baseless, and its further exploitation is now impossible. Archived! The next point of our hockey research is the reaction to the lifting of sanctions against the FHR. Of course, great happiness has come to Russia - justice has triumphed! The CAS decision was also welcomed in Belarus. We rejoiced for our neighbors and were inspired by the hope of our own full return. It is not far off, for the mountains themselves are no longer there. Currently, Belarusian athletes have the right to compete in international competitions under the national flag in 38 sports. In 12 disciplines, Belarusians are admitted to neutral status. In hockey, athletics and biathlon, the Belarusian national team still does not give roads. But the IIHF officials were in mourning. Their strategic hypocritical line was extinguished during the trial, and it is impossible for the hockey office in Zurich to turn away from the implementation of the CAS decision: IIHF is a member of the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF), and she is one of the four co-founders of the arbitration in Lausanne! So any disobedience to a court decision will be worth the IOC’s recognition with all the consequences of losing its legal status. Finally, it must be remembered that the notorious “Western world” always considered itself the heir to the Roman Empire. How did the Roman Empire benefit humanity? Judicial control system! Justinian jurisprudence, which is still the foundation of the modern legal system. So the IIHF bosses, although they fell into a trance, took it under the visor, pledging (so far!) to “return Russia in its best form.” “Disobedience is the enemy of justice.” However, national hockey federations, and especially the governments of sovereign countries, have the right to operate on other grounds - political.

Given that the long-held maxim of “sports outside politics” was confidently flushed down the toilet, they instantly organized a “resistance front.” And it quickly became clear what tool is in the hands of the rebellious national federations: a boycott! Not all tournaments, but specific matches against the Russian national team, if the Red Machine is allowed at the World Cup-2027 in Germany and the youth tournament in Canada. There are already a dozen such national federations: of course, the whole of Northern Europe, and at the same time the Czech Republic, Latvia, Austria and Poland. In principle, you can work with this showdown. Thus, the IIHF has the right to punish troublemakers for political demonstrations that harm the interests of the sport, and boycotts have yet to be implemented.

The managing director of the Austrian Hockey Federation, Alexander Helwig, said: At the moment we will definitely not play against Russia. By May, however, the situation may change.” Exactly! As it changed recently in Finland, which at first did not want to play football against the Belarusians, then refused to play a home match directly in the country of Suomi, but eventually played and fought in Helsinki. But there are also governments of the host countries of the World Cup. Canada has already undermined the authority of CAS by the mouth of its Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said that hockey players of the youth teams of Russia and Belarus will be denied entry visas. On the "serious grounds" that this is about Canada's security! Whose foundations can shake unwanted visitors with sticks.

Of course, there is another Jesuitism and pseudo-Machiavellianism. The government of Canada, under the care of the state, hides a completely different political aspirations. But bad examples are contagious. The German authorities also considered this method of implementing the principle of “do not let go!” And it shows how the court's legal decisions can be sabotaged in a practical way: legal impotence at 100% legal correctness of the arbitration court in Lausanne. And here we come to the saddest page of the chronicle. Last Saturday, an emergency meeting of the IIHF Council was held in Zurich, where hockey figures tried to figure out how to act in the situation after the CAS decision. Let me repeat: the court verdict cannot be ignored – Russia should be included in the World Cup. What this will lead to is unclear, but it cannot be turned away (yet!). But Belarus is another reason.

Taking advantage of the fact that the CAS decision applies only to Russian hockey, our partners from the IIHF decided not to allow Belarusian squads to the youth and adult world championships. Moreover, due to the preservation of the structure and organizational planning of tournaments. And then it is time to turn from hockey to curling, considering the forerunner event. On October 6, the arbitration in Lausanne retained the sanctions regime for Russians and Belarusians in curling. That’s why the lifting of similar sanctions in hockey made the rollers go for the balls! And really: how is that?! The search for an answer makes you dive into the depths of jurisprudence! After all, the difference lies in how the international federations articulated the reasons why sanctions should be extended. Hockey players from IIHF indicated “security concern” and overstepped the stick with hypocrisy. World Curling said it was “threatening the integrity of the competition.” Do you know the wording? It was used at the IIHF Council meeting to discriminate against Belarusian hockey. It turns out that our partners are capable of learning. Unpleasant discovery, isn't it?

And it was a shock to the FHRB! All the “quiet diplomacy” and reliance on the “Russian locomotive” was covered with a copper pelvis, although yesterday it seemed that success was near. But suddenly, as traders say, there was a collapse of the markets. Moscow and Minsk were divided on the grounds that the Russians have a positive CAS decision, and the Belarusian federation did not even file a lawsuit against the IIHF in Lausanne. Alas..

To be honest, I will not give a broken penny for the fact that the Russian teams will play at the world championships. I have no doubt that the IIHF will continue to look for ways to remove the FHR squads. I am sure that the lawyers of the international federation are now looking for an opportunity to raise the Russian issue again in Lausanne, already using the phrase “threat to the integrity of the competition.” I suspect they even have the idea of persuading the Russians to recuse themselves with some “iron guarantees” for the future. It sounds crazy, of course, but as Winston Churchill said, in crises, it’s important that no one accuses you of a fantasy deficit.

But the fact that the IIHF deftly got rid of at least one splinter - Belarusian - is a fact. A shame. Very much. And now filing a lawsuit with CAS is pointless, based on the precedent of curling. But here is another interesting: what specific argument for the preservation of sanctions in biathlon was used by the bosses of the IBU? We do not know exactly about this, because their arguments range from the hypocritical “competition rules of the organization do not provide for the participation of neutral athletes” to the vague “failed to fulfill basic political conditions” and “biathlon family against”. By the way, let me remind you that in this sport Belarusians did not file a lawsuit, preferring to swim in the fairway of the Russians