The Latvian U-18 hockey team plans to participate in the World Championship next year, but will not play against the Belarusian team, confirmed LTV Secretary General of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (LHF) Roberts Plavejs.
On Thursday, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) decided that the Belarusian men's U-18 team will be able to return to the elite division next season, where Latvian juniors will also compete. Currently, the teams are not supposed to play in the same group, but it is possible that they may meet in the playoffs or relegation matches.
According to Plavejs, the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation has consistently opposed the return of Belarusian teams to international competitions. "LHF plans to participate in the tournament, but does not plan to hold matches against the Belarusian team," said Plavejs.
It should be noted that Mr. Plavejs's plans do not matter here. According to the law adopted in Latvia, Latvian teams are prohibited under the threat of criminal punishment from competing against teams from Russia and Belarus in team sports.
Thus, the choice for young hockey players is limited – either face legal consequences or lose a theoretical three points.
Belarus will also be represented in women's championships among adults and U-18. These teams will compete in the lowest divisions, where Latvia does not play.
Next year, the Lithuanian team was supposed to participate in the third division of the women's U-18 World Championship, but after Belarus's return to international competitions, it was decided that the Lithuanian U-18 hockey players would not participate in the tournament.
As reported by bb.lv, two weeks ago, the Latvian football team received a technical defeat with a score of 0:3 for refusing to play against the Belarusian team in the qualifiers for the U-19 Euro-2027.
