Tuesday, 8 December 2020
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) President René Fasel has claimed the organisation still wants Belarus to co-host its World Championship next year despite the crisis in the country, as he called off a meeting with Alexander Lukashenko at the last minute after testing positive for COVID-19.
Fasel and IIHF secretary general Horst Lichtner had been due to meet Lukashenko today to discuss concerns surrounding the country s co-hosting of the 2021 IIHF World Championship, amid the Belarus Government s heavy-handed crackdown on protestors against his regime.
Both have now tested positive for COVID-19, however.
Lukashenko was yesterday banned from attending the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games under a series of provisional measures imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus (NOCRB), which he has led for 23 years.