MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – After the IIHF world championship we will analyze the state of affairs in this sport, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said when talking to the media on 9 May, BelTA has learned.
“The situation in hockey is so inadequate that after the world championship we will meet and will think what to do next (we have already agreed about this with the coaches and athletes),” Alexander Lukashenko said. “We have recently had failures in hockey, in football and in biathlon where we have always been at the top. We cannot allow that to happen,” the president said.
“We understand that we played with the favorites, but they are not super-strong. How could Belarus allow a third goal from Finland?” the president asked a rhetorical question when commenting on the performance of the hockey team at the world championship. “Lack of discipline, attempts at individual game which none of the players can play. They do not know how to play hockey!” the president said.
“How did they play with Canada? That was a shame. It would have been better not to go to the championship at all. Why go out there if you have your knees trembling,” Alexander Lukashenko said.
The head of state believes that even if you play with a favorite, you have to fight till the end, for at least one point. “You see how France played. Well done. They just swept Finland, away” he stated.
“Let's see what happens next. If they make conclusions and start playing, we will welcome this. If not we will not put up with this,” he said. “Why do I react so badly. It is not because I am an athlete and do sports all my life. It is because the sport is the greatest ideology. When Russia defeats Germany in the run-up to 9 May, this means some kind of political associations. The Russians rebounded in spirit. What gifts do our hockey players give us? Millions of people are watching them, rooting for them and they display such poor attitude,” the president said.
