Former head coach of the Ukrainian national team Andriy Nazarov called the removal of the Russian national team from the World Cup a fear of rivals that it would win the tournament. A native of Chelyabinsk accused the international federation (IIHF) of politicizing sports.
Nazarov stated this in an interview with Championship.com. With complete disdain for North America and Europe, he recalled gas and oil in Russia, which “no one will ever cancel”, and also accused the IIHF of canceling hockey in the aggressor country.
“Personally, I don’t understand why the IIHF just takes and cancels hockey for our country. I think everything is simple: in the West they are afraid that the Russian team can win the World Championship. Look, no one is canceling gas and oil from Russia. And at any price. And they will never cancel it. And then they decided to win back in hockey and they say that this is not a political decision, it’s just funny to hear it. The organizers were just scared of us. They were afraid that we would become champions. Of course, we would be in the final. “We are afraid of Russia and do not want to see her as a champion,” Nazarov said.
Recall that at the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship, a fan was forced to take off his T-shirt, on which “Russia” was written. And the propaganda channel “Match TV” interrupted the broadcast of the match of the tournament because of the huge flag in support of Ukraine.
As GLOBAL HAPPENINGS reported, there was a grandiose sensation at the 2023 Ice Hockey World Cup, which was last seen by fans 23 years ago. In addition, for the first time in history, the Latvian team reached the semi-final of the World Cup.
Source: Obozrevatel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
