On the night of December 29-30, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced the cancellation of the youth ice hockey world championship. The tournament started on December 26, several rounds of the group stage passed, and then everyone turned off. The reason is the covid, which began to creep apart in teams.
The USA national team suffered first. Before the match with Switzerland, two players of this team passed positive tests and were isolated. As a result, the Americans received a technical defeat in accordance with the tournament regulations: according to the accepted rules, if at least one positive test was detected, the team was awarded a “techie”.
Already at that moment it became clear that the clouds were gathering over the MFM. The USA national team is the reigning champion and one of the main favorites of the current tournament, but she received no indulgence. Two positive tests – goodbye and no comment. It was not even clear what the US team would see in the future – whether to continue playing at the tournament or to be withdrawn.
But later the crisis covered with renewed vigor. First, according to the same scheme, the Czech Republic received a technical defeat in the game against Finland, which had one positive test. Then it boomed in the Russian national team. Our team was awarded a techie in the match with Slovakia because of the positive for the covid at the main star Matvey Michkov . Moreover, the player’s internal test, done by the team’s doctor, was negative. But this did not bother anyone – the whole team was sent to quarantine.
Related Covid-19 Causes Cancellation Of Hockey’s 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship
Weak security and hotel weddings
The degree of dissatisfaction of the teams reached a peak, as a result of which it was necessary to urgently convene the IIHF Council, which decided not to continue the tournament. President of the organization Luc Tardiff promised to consider the option of postponing the MFM for another time. Summer is rumored.
But how did it happen that the players started taking positive tests on the third day of the tournament? It’s simple – the organizers failed, not ensuring the safety of the participants. Last year, the MFM took place in a strict bubble at the arena in Edmonton. The tournament was almost perfect because players, coaches and members of delegations were isolated from contact with the outside world. Only they were in the hotel.
Now there were other guests at the hotel in Red Deer, where the teams of Group B lived. In parallel, weddings and banquets were held there, that is, there was no isolation. Hockey players sat in numbers and did not contact anyone, but in order to pick up a covid, you do not need to communicate with the carrier of the virus. You just need to grab the door handle or press a button in the elevator.
The new omicron coronavirus strain paused the NHL regular season in December and left the Olympics without players from the best league in the world. On December 24, the IIHF canceled all January tournaments under its auspices, including the women’s junior world championship, but decided to host an MFM, limiting attendance to 50 percent.
This step looked absurd. However, it is quite easy to understand its cause. It lies in the money that the IIHF and the tournament organizer, Hockey Canada, could receive. MFM is one of the highest rated events on North American television, hypothetical advertising revenues were huge.
IIHF failed, and now it is obliged to save the situation
All the more surprising is the behavior of Hockey Canada, which has neglected the organization. You need to have a special talent to figure out how to put teams in an open hotel at a time. It is for this that the organizers and the IIHF are now being destroyed by the press, fans and even players with coaches.
For example, the head coach of the Finnish national team Antti Pennanen was simply furious:
“ I’m angry because the problem is not covid, but bad organization. Here the NHL protocol should have been in effect, according to which only the infected are quarantined, and not the entire team. It was necessary to make sure that those who tested positive were suspended, and the rest were allowed to continue playing.
It should have been the same as last year, when, for example, the German team had a lot of sick people, but they still played with a cut back.
This says a lot about the state of the IIHF. I am extremely disappointed. The world’s best players have gathered here. Several million viewers are watching the tournament. But it was poorly organized. When we tried to help, they didn’t listen to us. ”
Many are surprised that last year, when there was no vaccine, the tournament took place. Now that all the players, coaches and staff are vaccinated, the MFM is canceled. What then are vaccinations for?
You are worried about the health of the players, but the vaccine is being done, among other things, so that the disease is mild or even asymptomatic. 90 percent of NHL players (128 people) who got into the covid protocol did not have any manifestations of the disease.
After the cancellation of the MFM, there are no winners. This cannot be beneficial to anyone. The main victims are the guys for whom playing at the MFM is a dream and a serious career impulse. Some of them are not destined to prove themselves in adult hockey, so playing for the youth team can become the most vivid memory of their careers. Players born in 2002 suffered the most. In 2020, the coronavirus deprived them of the junior world championship, and now it has also taken away the MFM.
The IIHF will try to save all the January tournaments that were canceled. The main question is how long to transfer. Now July suggests itself – by this time the adult world championship will be held, the Stanley Cup will be played, and the seasons in the European leagues will end. On paper, a good deal, but what will happen to the loading of arenas at this time – no one knows.
IIHF and Tardiff personally are obliged to come up with something in this situation. The Frenchman hardly wants to start his presidency with such a serious blow to the image. Hockey Canada frankly set him up. Therefore, the organizations are already holding negotiations and consultations on how to get out of the situation. They obviously will not pull, very soon we will find out everything.
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