Czech Foreign Minister called Russian hockey players 'manly girls'

The minister's statement

Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka called Russian hockey players 'manly girls', emphasizing that he considers hockey a men's sport. 'I am afraid I will not please our esteemed feminists if I say that this time the championship will do just fine without the participation of a team of Russian manly girls,' CNN Prima NEWS quoted him as saying, citing Gazeta.Ru.

The federation's reaction

According to the outlet, the president of the Czech Ice Hockey Federation, Alois Hadamczik, said that the minister did not mean anything bad with his statement. He added that he would meet Macinka in person at the championship in Ostrava and invite him to watch the Czech women's national team play. Earlier, the federation's general secretary Jan Cerny said that Czech hockey opposes the return of the Russian national team to international tournaments.

Context: the CAS ruling and visas

The minister's statement came against the backdrop of a change in the previous situation: On October 30, the Court of Arbitration for Sport fully upheld the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and overturned the International Ice Hockey Federation's decision to suspend Russia. The IIHF said it would urgently assess the steps and time needed to implement the ruling and address its operational consequences, but expressed dissatisfaction with the CAS decision. A practical obstacle to the team's participation also remains at the level of individual countries: earlier, the Czech Republic refused to issue visas to Russian hockey players for the 2027 junior World Championship. Thus, the court's overturning of the suspension does not yet mean the team's automatic return to tournaments — the issue hinges on the position of national federations and visa restrictions.