Belarus axed as host of ice hockey tournament over 'security concerns'
udf.byThe IIHF chief, René Fasel (right), had dismissed pressure to cancel the championships after meeting Alexander Lukashenko (left) on 11 January.
Photograph: Nikolai Petrov/BELTA/TASS Sponsors of IIHF championships had begun to drop out after violent government crackdown on protests The international ice hockey federation (IIHF) has said it will not hold this summer’s world championship in Belarus, amid concerns that it would be a propaganda coup for the country’s hockey-mad dictator,Alexander Lukashenko.