–
Former President of the Latvian Hockey Federation (LHF) Kirov Lipmans in a conversation with Valdis Valters “11TV” broadcast has spoken about the upcoming 2021 World Championships, the beginnings of Riga’s Dinamo, as well as the current situation in the federation.
“I am very surprised that such a decision has been made [organizēt PČ kopā ar Baltkrieviju – aut.]. It was accepted only because Latvia was looking for a partner not to build a second hall and persuaded the Belarusians. My opinion that Latvia did not want to build a second hall so that there would be no competition for “Arena Riga” was not acceptable to anyone, “says Lipmans.
“It is not right. I am categorically against. This is an additional disrespect to the International Hockey Federation (IIHF), ”Lipmans comments on the rumors that Latvia will not hold a World Cup with Belarus if unrest continues in the neighboring country. “One should not think that the IIHF is stupid and they will not understand whether to leave the championship to Belarus or transfer to another country.”
“Riga” Dinamo “does not match KHL. I was the initiator for us to have such a team KHL. For us, once national team hockey players played all over the world. I think there will be 70% national team candidates and it will be easier for the coach to prepare the team for the world championship. I think that the Dinamo team will have the same head coach as the national team, ”says the former LHF president.
“Honestly, I will not go into what is happening in the federation. The only thing is that I am often called by the players and coaches now because they are not happy, but I don’t get inside. It’s up to them to do what they want there. If Lipmans had not been elected president of the LHF in the 1990s, hockey would have been at an even lower level than it is today, ”Lipmans believes.
The dates of the 2021 World Hockey Championship were approved at the 2020 IIHF Extraordinary Congress. To accommodate the late start of the season in Europe and North America, it was decided that the 2021 World Hockey Championship will take place from May 21 to June 6.
It has already been reported that the IIHF has no plans to relocate the 2021 World Cup to another venue and does not want to make any political statements.
The 2021 World Championship is organized by Minsk together with Riga, but the games of the decisive phase of the tournament are planned in the capital of Belarus. The Minsk World Cup was also hosted in 2014, and at that time the European Parliament called on the IIHF to prevent Belarus from hosting the championship, citing the authorities’ repression against the opposition.
–
