Tardif: “Fazel still seeks to influence the activities of the IIHF in the interests of Russia”
Luc Tardif said that the honorary president of the International Ice Hockey Federation still seeks to influence the activities of the IIHF and does this in the interests of Russia
René Fazel
(Photo: Xinyu Cui/Getty Images)
Honorary President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Rene Fasel is trying to lobby Russia’s interests in the organization. This was told by the current head of the IIHF, Luc Tardif, who quotes portal Jatkoaika.com.
“He still seeks to influence the activities of the IIHF. In the interests of Russia,” Tardif said.
Fasel led the IIHF from 1994 to 2021, replaced by Tardif in September 2021. It was assumed that after leaving the IIHF, Fasel would become a consultant to the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and the KHL. KHL informedthat the league intends to involve Fasel in solving strategic development issues. But in the end, none of this happened.
Fasel at the head of the IIHF supported Russia during the doping scandal around Russian sports, admired Vladimir Putin. At the same time, he spoke against the expansion of the KHL to the West.
Since the end of February last year, the national teams of Russia and Belarus have been suspended from IIHF tournaments, including world championships. Apart from suspension from the competition, the IIHF deprived Russia of the world championships scheduled for 2023 in St. Petersburg and the youth world championships in Omsk and Novosibirsk.