"The overall situation in the world does not pass by sports", DEB President Reindl hints at World Cup cancellation
A decision has not yet been reached, but anyone listening to Franz Reindl between the lines must assume that the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championships, which are supposed to take place in Switzerland in May, will be cancelled. "As for the World Championships in Switzerland, I don't expect a long discussion. The overall situation in the world does not pass by sports. And it is better to take decisions sooner rather than later", the DEB President said on Thursday afternoon during a press conference in Munich, at which Reindl and DEB Sports Director Stefan Schaidnagel spoke about the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for the sport of ice hockey. As Reindl reported, the Council of the IIHF World Ice Hockey Federation will meet next week on Tuesday to agree on the further course of action in the global context.
As long as the World Championships have not yet been cancelled definitely, however, "we need to assume that we will proceed with the preparations", Schaidnagel also emphasised. "We have scheduled our preparations to commence on the 3rd of April and have instructed the players to keep in shape and stay healthy at their locations." As a result, the five home games of the German national team in preparation for the World Championships have not yet been cancelled at this stage. "Our domestic international matches will take place in three federal states, and no spectators are allowed in any of them anymore," Reindl said, however, giving cause for concern.
Meanwhile, both Reindl and Sports Director Schaidnagel explained once again the decision announced on Wednesday to discontinue DEB's game operations with immediate effect. "In my opinion, ice hockey has fulfilled its social duty. The sport cannot hide and pretend that this is passing us by. The damage is immense, the decision will hit us hard on all levels in terms of budget, but we still believe that it was the right decision", said Reindl, while Schaidnagel added, "We have to put the sport on the back burner at the moment as we have a social duty to contribute to the common welfare".
