Tikhanovskaya Calls For Boycotting 2021 Hockey World Championship If Held In Minsk

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former presidential candidate for the Belarusian opposition, said on Monday that she would call for a boycott of the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship if Minsk proceeded with co-hosting the event

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2021) Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former presidential candidate for the Belarusian opposition, said on Monday that she would call for a boycott of the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship if Minsk proceeded with co-hosting the event.

The Belarusian opposition is seeking to cancel or at least boycott the hockey matches, which are to be held from May 21 to June 6 in the co-host cities of Minsk and Latvia's Riga. The International Ice Hockey Federation so far did not contact the Belarusian Ice Hockey Association regarding the matter. An informed source has told Sputnik that the decision on the venue for the 2021 World Cup would be made by the end of January.

"The championship should be moved from Minsk. Otherwise, I call on all national federations to boycott it," Tikhanovskaya wrote in her Telegram channel.

Belarus plunged into a prolonged political crisis following the August 9 presidential election, won by incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko. The opposition did not recognize the results, claiming that Tikhanovskaya was the real winner.

Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania following the presidential election and has since met with foreign officials to discuss ways to settle the crisis in Belarus.