Yeah, the thing with Italy is that a lot of their imports are actually of Italian heritage. Which makes it a much lighter offence in my eyes.
It's not like they're paying literal millions to random skilled pros so that they could fast-track them to their national team. Which is what Belarus and Kazakhstan does. They have no emotional connection, no loyalty and no attachment to the country whatsoever.
The current rules make no sense, but they aren't going to be changed until the IIHF leadership gets out of the pocket of eastern european dictatorships.
