Finnish stars who played in Russia until the end of the season will not take part in the Women’s Lions World Cup camp in May. Noora Räty will not play in the World Cup, but the fate of others who have played in Russia will be decided later.
24.5. 17:45 • Updated May 24 20:47
The female lions gathered today in Vierumäki for their first camp after the Beijing Olympics. The team is preparing for the August-September World Cup and already at this point in the summer it is certain that the goalkeeper Noora Räty not included.
Head coach Juuso Toivola told Sport on the opening day of the camp.
– Now in August he is not in use. Then let’s look at the sequel separately, Toivola says.
In the club team season that ended in April, Räty was winning the championship of the Russian ZhHL series. ZhHL is the so-called “women’s KHL”, a series of Russian-led discs in which Räty represented the Chinese KRS Vanke Rays team at the end of the season.
According to Toivola, the discussions with the goalkeeper took place after the season in an open, good spirit.
– We have a long history with Noora from 2004–2005. We had a good-natured phone conversation, went through things, and looked to the future. Time will tell what will happen, Toivola says.
Räty skipped the World Cup in Calgary in August 2021, citing her busy schedule. Goalkeeper Räty runs a coaching school in his hometown of Minnesota, USA.
Other Women’s Lion World Cup selections will be made as the summer progresses. According to head coach Toivola, it is still open what kind of solutions will be made for Finns who have played in the Russian KHL series. In addition to rädyn Anna Kilponen, Michelle Karvinen, Susanna Tapani and Minttu Tuominen played until the end of the season in Russia despite being president Vladimir Putin launched a Russian offensive war in Ukraine.
– They were still playing well in April and we said we wouldn’t take them to this camp. The sequel will then look separately at what is happening and what series they are playing, Toivola says.
If Finns play in Russia or in a series linked to Russia, are they eligible for the national team?
– Let’s see first where they play. If you think about the bigger picture, this is in many ways disgusting to everyone. There should be no such situation in the world.
– There have been financial benefits for players in those games, it is understandably interesting, but then this is the other side of how they are treated. But with these prospects, it is not known that our players would go there, Toivola says.
The Women’s World Hockey Tournament will be played in Denmark from August 26 to September 4, 2022.