Famed Russian goalie/coach Yuri Novikov reacts to Gretzky's call to boot Russia from World Juniors
Yuri Novikov, who spent years as a goaltender in the former Soviet Union and held several different coaching roles with various Russian teams from 1985 to 2014, is calling for fellowship in light of Wayne Gretzky's call to ban Russia from the upcoming 2022 World Junior Championships. But, Novikov did so by taking a dig at North America and Gretzky himself.
"With all the freedom of the Western world, people there are also dependent, and politicians, as we see, bend sports and athletes. I don't think Gretzky is at all interested in this question. I think they created such conditions for him that he could not give a different assessment," said Novikov on Gretzky's remarks.
"Wayne Gretzky was respected in the USSR and Russia...It is very bad that he is forced to get involved in politics. And when our politicians also say: 'Let's not participate in the Olympics!', I am categorically against such statements. I know that sport is work and that people dream of getting to the World Championships and the Olympic Games. We have to protect the sport. I call for fellowship. A little time will pass, and in sports there will be many wise people who will sit down at the negotiating table."
"Wayne Gretzky was respected in the USSR and Russia...It is very bad that he is forced to get involved in politics. And when our politicians also say: 'Let's not participate in the Olympics!', I am categorically against such statements. I know that sport is work and that people dream of getting to the World Championships and the Olympic Games. We have to protect the sport. I call for fellowship. A little time will pass, and in sports there will be many wise people who will sit down at the negotiating table."
Gretzky made his stance very clear earlier this weekend.
"It's not good. Listen, we all agree that this is a senseless war. I talked to a couple of guys this morning who are living in Ukraine, they're actually driving from Kyiv with their families fourteen hours, dropping them off, driving back and picking up rifles and guns so they can protect their own city. So, you know, Alex (Ovechkin) isn't driving this bus. It's this one guy that's driving this bus and it's not good and we wish everyone in Ukraine all our best and our thoughts and prayers are with them.
But one of the things, I'm glad to see the Polish soccer team step up and say 'we're not going to play against them'. I think international hockey should say 'we're not going to allow them to play in the World Junior Hockey tournament'. I think we got to, as Canadians, take that stance, the games are going to be played in Edmonton."
But one of the things, I'm glad to see the Polish soccer team step up and say 'we're not going to play against them'. I think international hockey should say 'we're not going to allow them to play in the World Junior Hockey tournament'. I think we got to, as Canadians, take that stance, the games are going to be played in Edmonton."
There are many who believe young hockey players should not be punished for the actions of their head of state. At the same time, it is important that Vladimir Putin knows his actions are being denounced across all walks of life. There's no easy solution here and the longer this conflict goes on, the more we're likely to see Russia excluded from major events, sports or otherwise, in an attempt to send a message.
Source: Championat.com
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