The political situation in Belarus has put a lot of pressure on the IIHF to reverse their decision regarding Belarus. Pictures of IIHF president René Fasel hugging Belarus president Aleksander Lukaschenko, which were released today, have now put fuel into the fire.
The SIHF has now also put a statement out regarding the World Championship:
"We strongly condemn any form of violence and violations of human rights. We have already communicated our concerns regarding the World Championship in Minsk to the IIHF on several occasions and expect them to make a decision or issue a statement as soon as possible.
A safe and successful realization and participation in the World Championship has the highest priority for Swiss Ice Hockey. We are aware of our great responsibility and will never negligently expose a delegation to a security risk.
Hosting the 2021 World Championship in Switzerland is not an option. This decision was already made in May 2020 and nothing has changed."
