(ATR) Belarus will no longer be co-hosting the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Council, meeting remotely on Monday, determined that it was "unavoidable" to move the event out of Minsk "due to safety and security issues that are beyond the IIHF’s control".
Calls to strip Belarus of co-hosting the event with Latvia because of human rights abuses against athletes and political discrimination by the Alexander Lukashenko government had been growing. Widespread protests across Belarus began in August after Lukashenko was re-elected president in what is considered a rigged vote.
The final nail in the coffin could have been the threat by three sponsors to withdraw should Belarus not be removed as co-host. Nivea Men announced its intentions on January 15. Main sponsor Skoda and Liqui Moly followed suit over the weekend.
The IIHF Council decision came after what the federation called "a fair and unbiased due diligence process" that had concluded with "meeting with the Belarusian government last week and the commissioning of a further independent expert report".
Calling the decision "very regrettable", IIHF President René Fasel said "we had tried to promote that the World Championship could be used as a tool for reconciliation to help calm the socio-political issues happening in the Belarus and find a positive way forward.
"And while the Council feels that the World Championship should not be used for political promotion by any side, it has acknowledged that hosting this event in Minsk would not be appropriate when there are bigger issues to deal with and the safety and security of teams, spectators, and officials to prioritize."
With the event scheduled from May 21 to June 6, the IIHF must quickly decide on what to do with Belarus out of the mix. The status of co-host Latvia will need to be determined. Fasel has said that there has been a Plan B since last fall. Slovakia and Denmark have recently been reported as potential co-hosts with Latvia.
The IIHF on Monday also said it will evaluate whether the event would become a single-venue format to facilitate COVID-19 safety regulations and team travel.
Written by Gerard Farek
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