Idman.biz
Latvia's U18 ice hockey team does not intend to play against the Belarusian national team at the 2027 World Championship.
İdman.Biz reports that Robert Plyaveys, Secretary General of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation, announced this.
According to him, the Latvian national team plans to participate in the tournament, but does not intend to play a match with the Belarusian team. This position came after the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) decided to admit Belarus's youth and women's teams to world championships in the 2026/2027 season.
Belarus's U18 boys' national team is scheduled to participate in the World Championship in Duluth, USA. The competition will be held from April 22 to May 2, 2027.
The Latvian and Belarusian teams will be in different groups in the group stage. Nevertheless, there is a possibility that the teams could face each other in the playoffs or in a game to stay in the elite division.
It is noted that Latvian legislation prohibits national teams from playing against Russian and Belarusian teams. For this reason, a possible encounter could create an additional problem for the IIHF.
Recall that the IIHF decided to admit Belarus to three tournaments in the 2026/2027 season. The issue regarding Russia has not been automatically resolved, and the organization has announced that it will conduct a separate evaluation for each competition.
