The Finnish national field hockey team has refused to participate in the world championship in Russia, Iltalehti reports with reference to the head of the Finnish Hockey Association, Tobias Karlsson.
Report informs citing RIA Novosti that the tournament will be held in Syktyvkar from March 27 to April 3. Also, the Finnish team will not take part in the World Junior Championship, which is scheduled for March 24-26 in Kemerovo.
"The reasons are the escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine and the deterioration of the security situation in Russia in connection with this. We are responsible for ensuring the safety of Finnish citizens, so we have decided not to participate in the competition," Karlsson said.