The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) pledged on Tuesday to retain the Belarusian flag in all the venues of the World Championship and expressed hope that the Latvian capital of Riga would reconsider its decision to remove the flag in light of the Ryanair incident
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2021) The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) pledged on Tuesday to retain the Belarusian flag in all the venues of the World Championship and expressed hope that the Latvian capital of Riga would reconsider its decision to remove the flag in light of the Ryanair incident.
"The IIHF does not agree with the actions taken yesterday by the Mayor of Riga and the Latvian Foreign Minister to use the flag of a participating country in the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship for a political message.The actions of the Belarus government are separate from the players who are competing under the Belarus flag at this tournament," the IIHF said in a statement, stressing that it is an "apolitical sports organization."
"The IIHF will retain the Belarus flag in all World Championship venues for the duration of the tournament, and hopes that the mayor's office of Riga will reconsider its decision to remove the Belarus flag from the group of participating nations being displayed in Riga," the statement read on.