The Czech fans, to whom the organizers of the World Hockey Championship in Finland took off the Ukrainian flag, did not let themselves be discouraged. The case had a continuation. How did a group of Czechs circumvent the ban?
Czech fans at the World Cup in Tampere. Fantomas also arrived in Finland.
| Photo: ČTK / Michal Kamaryt
The Ukrainian flag appeared in the auditorium of the arena in Tampere for Saturday’s match between the Czech hockey players and Norway. It was posted by Czech fans who wanted to express their support for Ukraine, which is being plundered by the Russian army. But the organizers did not like it, who after a while stepped in and the blue-yellow flag had to disappear from the railing.
Putin’s friend and shame. Do not go to Finland for the World Cup, the organizers say to Fasel
“Only the flags of the participating countries are allowed in the tournament. The flags of the countries that play in the tournament can be seen, “Janina Haapaniemi, the head of the press center for iDNES.cz, explained the removal of the Ukrainian flag.
The Ukrainian flag hung between two Czech flags. On one was the text “Go home, Ivan…” with the year 1968 and on the other “ata Nataša is waiting for you” and the year 2022.
However, the fans did not let themselves be poisoned and matured in the next match against the USA. They wouldn’t be Czechs if they didn’t think of a way to get around the ban. Today, the rolled-up party hung a white flag in the galleries with English inscriptions: “Yellow color, blue color, imagine it”. Nobody objected to that anymore, and the group of Czechs thus achieved their goal.
Honest performance, sure Vejmelka. We needed such a match, said the Czech goalkeeper
Although the International Hockey Federation has excluded Russia and Belarus from participating in the tournament in Finland, it is otherwise slow to the war in Ukraine. It is no secret that former IIHF chief René Fasel is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and should take on the role of adviser to the Russian KHL. In addition, the controversial Swiss is an honorary member of the IIHF and has been invited to come to the World Championships as a guest. But that probably won’t happen.
“I know that behind the scenes, he was tactfully told that he should seriously think about whether to actually come,” said Matti Nurminen, the executive director of Finnish hockey, who refused to take part in Russia before the IIHF ban.
