8 ice hockey associations seeking sanctions from IIHF against Russia, Belarus

TALLINN – Eight ice hockey associations with International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) membership have applied to the IIHF council for sanctions against Russia and Belarus in connection with their military aggression against Ukraine.

The statement was signed by the heads of the ice hockey associations of the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia.

The content of the statement is as follows:

"On Feb. 24, the world woke up to shocking and terrible news -- the Russian Federation, with the support of the Republic of Belarus, launched a large-scale war against the sovereign state of Ukraine. All this is in stark contrast to the principles of the Olympic Charter and international law.

We have all seen shocking footage from various media channels of the horrors and losses of the war, both among the military and among the civilian population. As a result of this attack, a humanitarian catastrophe is developing before our eyes.

In solidarity with other major international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee, we call on the IIHF to issue a statement saying that we stand by our Ukrainian brothers and sisters and fully and unequivocally condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Given the current situation, the representatives of the ice hockey communities of the signatory countries require the IIHF to immediately suspend the membership of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the IIHF; to remove the representatives of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus from the IIHF council; to remove all persons from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus from the IIHF and its committees and immediately suspend the IIHF's cooperation with the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)."