According to Harri Nummela, the chairman of the hockey association, the association has not discussed whether the Finnish national team can play its home games in a Russian-owned hall.
Chairman of the Finnish Hockey Association Harri Nummela says that Finland wants to discuss with the International Hockey Federation and other major hockey countries whether Russia can participate in the World Cup to be held in Finland this spring.
The topic has come up in the debate since Russia invaded Ukraine.
– We want to discuss this with other parties, Nummela says.
The World Cup, which starts on May 13, will be played in Tampere and Helsinki.
The matches of Group A are to be played in the Helsinki Arena. The teams in the block are Canada, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Kazakhstan and Russia.
Hartwall, the name sponsor of the Helsinki arena, will find out if it can withdraw from the arena’s cooperation agreement.
The arena has been Russian-owned since 2013. The arena is owned by Helsingin Halli Oy, whose main shareholder is Arena Events Oy. The chairman of the boards of both companies is a Russian businessman Roman Rotenberg. She is Gennadi Timtšenkon in addition to the largest owners of the arena.
Roman Rotenberg’s father is Boris Rotenberg and uncle Arkadi Rotenberg. Tymoshenko and the Rotenberg are known for their close relationship with the president Vladimir Putin. The United States and Britain have put businessmen on anti-Russian sanctions lists.
Harri Nummela, will next year’s World Cup matches be played at the Helsinki Arena?
– There are currently many questions in international hockey that need to be addressed as a result of this unfortunate sad situation. These are things that the Finnish Hockey Association alone cannot decide. The development of this situation is certainly one of the determining factors and will certainly guide the outcome of the joint debate, Nummela says.
Will the Finnish men’s or women’s national hockey team play in the Helsinki Arena in the future?
– We have not had time to discuss or make guidelines on this issue, Nummela says.
In next spring’s World Cup, Finland will play its first block match in Tampere. Sweden, the United States, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Norway, the United Kingdom and Belarus are playing in the same block.
The Finnish Hockey Association condemns Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The association announced today that it will remove the Lions’ frozen jerseys and world championship pennants from the roof of the Helsinki arena. The future location of the shirts and pennants will be decided later.
– The Finnish Hockey Association cannot accept Russia’s activities in Ukraine. With such a statement, we want to show our support for Ukraine, Nummela says.