“For the safety and well-being of all participating players, officials, media and fans, the IIHF Council has decided to withdraw hosting rights from Russia,” it said in a statement.
The federation had already snatched Russia from next year’s junior world championships for the same reason.
“Of course, this decision is not justified, even though it was expected that the IIHF management would be more mature and start thinking in the interest of the sport,” Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Russian Ice Hockey Committee member Valery Kamensky as saying, as saying.
“It really is a shame that the new president of the organization, Luke Tardef, starts by killing Hawkeye.
“We have no right to surrender and we have no plans to do so.”
The tournament was awarded to Russia in 2018, and was scheduled to be held in St Petersburg from May 5-21, 2023.
Russia was suspended by the IIHF in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
A replacement host country will be announced during the IIHF Annual Congress to be held in Finland next month. Tampere and Helsinki are the two venues for the 2022 event which runs from 13–29 May.
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