Hockey: Russia nailed for snubbing Canadian anthem

ZURICH— The Russian Hockey Federation was fined Monday over the national team snubbing Canada’s victory celebration after the world championship final.

The sport’s governing body, IIHF, said the Russian players deliberately left the ice before Canada’s national anthem was played after a signal from captain Ilya Kovalchuk.

The Russian federation had claimed its players had been confused after the rink-side gate was left open and took that as a signal to leave following the 6-1 loss in May in Prague.

But after studying video evidence, the IIHF said Kovalchuk gave an “unmistakable head gesture” as signal for teammates to skate off the ice early after collecting their silver medals.

They did not stay to hear the Canadian anthem and watch the flags of the three medallist countries being raised.

“This was exceptional as no other team has ever left the ice before the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship medal ceremony was completed,” the Zurich-based body said.

The IIHF fined the Russian hockey about $115,000 after accepting it had apologized to Canadian officials.

The IIHF ruled that the open rinkside gate was “irrelevant” and noted Russian players and officials were aware of tournament rules “because of their vast experience.”

“The panel is of the opinion that the occurrences on the ice show that this is not a result of an unfortunate misunderstanding” as Russia claimed, the IIHF said.