Hockey Slovakia announced on Thursday that they see no legal problem with Slovak players in the Russian KHL also playing for the national team. This decision is highly criticized by Slovak sports media, some of which refuse to report on KHL results. Referencing the Olympic charter, Hockey Slovakia officials claim sport is a tool for uniting, not dividing. They want to choose players for the team based on their form, not the league that employs them. Slovakia thus chose not to join countries that have embraced such a step following the Russian aggression in Ukraine. A ban on KHL play has been issued, for instance, by France, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. Currently, there are seven Slovak ice-hockey players in the Russian KHL.
Source: TASR, RSI
