The further alienation of Russia in the sporting world continued on Monday when the National Hockey League (NHL) announced it would be suspending all of its Russian partnerships in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement released on Monday, the NHL said that it would suspend relationships with all Russian business partners “effective immediately” as it urged for a quick resolution to the Ukraine crisis.
The National Hockey League condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and urges a peaceful resolution as quickly as possible.
Effective immediately, we are suspending our relationships with our business partners in Russia and we are pausing our Russian language social and digital media sites. In addition, we are discontinuing any consideration of Russia as a location for any future competitions involving the NHL.
We also remain concerned about the well-being of the players from Russia, who play in the NHL on behalf of their NHL Clubs, and not on behalf of Russia.
We understand they and their families are being placed in an extremely difficult position.
Also on Monday, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) denounced the invasion of Ukraine and suspended all Russian and Belarusian teams from competing “until further notice.” USA Hockey supported the decision in a statement on Monday.
Our hearts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine as they defend their country. USA Hockey fully supports the IIHF in its decision to not allow Russian and Belarus to host or participate upcoming World Championships. The actions of Vladimir Putin and the support from Belarusian government officials, are beyond reprehensible.
Russian-born professional hockey player Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals publicly called for peace on Monday and that he hoped the conflict would end soon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko take part in an ice hockey match at Rosa Khutor outside the Black Sea resort of Sochi, on February 7, 2020, as part of Lukashenko’s visit to Russia. (ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“I’m Russian, right? Sometimes something I can’t control. It’s not in my hands. How I say, I hope it’s going to end soon and it’s going to be peace in both countries. I don’t control this one,” he said during a press conference.
“It’s a hard situation. I have family back in Russia and it is scary moments,” Ovechkin added “But we can’t do anything. We just hope it going to be end soon and everything is going to be all right.”
Also, on Monday, FIFA announced that Russia would be banned from the 2022 World Cup after initially resisting calls to do so.
“Russia has been kicked out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by FIFA after the world governing body and the European association, UEFA, issued a joint statement to confirm that all Russian national teams and clubs have been suspended until further notice following the invasion of Ukraine,” reported ESPN.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also recommended that international sporting competitions ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in sporting events.
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