Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously criticised the reactions of the leading hockey nations and described boycotts of World Cup matches against Russia as a serious crime.
However, he has not commented on the issue in recent days. The sports minister has, though.
So far, it has only been talk. In any case, on Vladimir Putin's orders, we have launched aggressive diplomatic and legal measures, says Mikhail Degtyarev, adding:
Our ice hockey federation is not a punching bag. The federation immediately filed an appeal with the International Ice Hockey Federation's disciplinary committee. The Finns and Swedes will have to live with that. Sweden claimed that Swedish players would suffer a psychological setback if they played against the Russians, which is insane, says Degtyarev.
Russia has been suspended from international ice hockey since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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