Belarusian political teddy bear schism with Sweden can stop the nation in hockey World Cup in Vanersborg.
– We have no contact with them. The United States would be the natural successor, says Bo Nyman, secretary general of the International Hockey League.
Text source: SvD.se translated with Google translate / Stig Björne
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is a dedicated hockey fan.
The question is how a possible boycott of the hockey World Cup would affect Belarus’ own controversial hosting of the hockey World Cup in 2014?
When SvD yesterday rang Belarusian Bandy Federation in Minsk took the call ended after 20 seconds, and a fire and brimstone tirade in Russian.
– The actual union probably can not do something, they follow orders from above. For us, just wait, says Bo Nyman.
Do you have a deadline?
– It must not drag on too long. There are some practical details that need to be arranged. As to order tickets in advance to get down in terms of cost.
Have you contacted the U.S.?
– Not officially. But the call has been completed, says Bo Nyman.
U.S., whose vice president is Swedish (Magnus Shield), went out of the A group at the last World Cup in Kazakhstan.
While Belarus won the B group before Canada. The nation, which became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, debuted in the hockey World Cup a decade later in Sweden / Finland.
A possible return to the high north thus looks like it’s written in the stars. Sweden organizes this winter both A-and B-group (January 27-February 3 in Vanersborg, and 24 to 26 January in Vetlanda).
– There is not much we can do, adds Bo Nyman.
It was when a Swedish PR agency placed teddy bears with regime critical message in Belarussian airspace as it took home the heck.
Lukashenko responded by dismissing its air force chief and show out the Swedish embassy staff out of the country. Although the Belarusian Embassy in Stockholm was closed.
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt’s description of Lukashenko as ”tough” did not help to reassure them.
Stig Björne
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