The national flags of Russia and Belarus will be banned at the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship, which will be held May 12-28 in Latvia and Finland, Delfi reports.. lv with reference to the head of the Latvian organizing committee of the tournament, Edgars Buncis.

At the same time, the Ukrainian flag will be allowed to be carried to the World Cup matches at the Arena-Riga, and it will be equivalent to the Latvian flag..

Recall that on February 28 last year, the IIHF Council suspended all clubs and teams from Russia and Belarus in connection with the start of a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

Initially, this tournament was supposed to be held in St. Petersburg (Russia), but due to the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation was deprived of the right to host the championship.

In March of this year, the IIHF decided to extend the suspension of national teams and clubs from Russia and Belarus for the 2023/24 season..

Thus, the teams of both countries will miss the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship. Also, they will not be able to qualify for the 2024 World Cup..

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Earlier it was reported that the Congress of Ukrainians in Canada urged not to issue a visa to the Russian hockey player Ovechkin.