JOKERIT 2020-2021 (GOING ALL IN?)

[vorky]

 

[Jussi]

Rauma Lukko sporting director Kalle Sahsltedt said today that he's not expecting CHL games to be played. Lukko would have to be quarantined for 2 weeks after their trip to the Czech Republic, which makes it impossible to play. Since Lukko have been told about the quarantine, it's unlikely Jokerit would get a pass either.

 

[vorky]

 

[bagsw]

Russian goverment removed all restrictions for foreign coaches and athletes yesterday. So the only remaining problem for Jokerit is to have an agreement with its domestic regulators.

 

[member 305909]

The only light in this tunnel is the statement the statement that athletes might not be under the same restrictions as their risk of infection is considered lower. But I don't really see this matter when half the season contains travelling back and forth a high-risk country.

Just goes to show how stupid this whole thing is in this situation. People need bread and circus but circus will always be inferior to bread.

However, if circus doesn't move on a whole lot of powerful people would lose a lot of money so that's not an option.

 

[Jussi]

National lottery and sports betting agency Veikkaus withdrawing their plans of renewing sponsorship of Jokerit due to the Belarus situation. Already lost Finnair, though that was more likely due to financial impact of Coronavirus on the company. Sasha Huttunen reported that according to KHL regulations , if a team forfeits a game, they will be assigned a 0-5 loss a fine between 11K - 33K euros. Veikkaus sponsorship would probably have been more than that.

 

[Exarz]

National lottery and sports betting agency Veikkaus withdrawing their plans of renewing sponsorship of Jokerit due to the Belarus situation. Already lost Finnair, though that was more likely due to financial impact of Coronavirus on the company. Sasha Huttunen reported that according to KHL regulations , if a team forfeits a game, they will be assigned a 0-5 loss a fine between 11K - 33K euros. Veikkaus sponsorship would probably have been more than that.

This whole pre-season has been absurd. They literally lose more playing this game than forfeiting as I believe more sponsors are to follow Veikkaus. The only reason I find that they are actually going must be pressure from the Russian side, unfortunately.

 

[member 305909]

Very sad to see a hockey legend Jari Kurri having become a puppet.

 

[Jussi]

Fansection Eteläpääty have announced they're boycotting home games for the foreseeable future.

 

[filip85]

I just found info on Twitter that according to YLE Jokerit lost 71 milion euro so far by playing in the KHL !? Is that true ?

 

[Jussi]

I just found info on Twitter that according to YLE Jokerit lost 71 milion euro so far by playing in the KHL !? Is that true ?

Yes. That was before last season. We probably won't know before January again how big the losses for last season were.

 

[member 305909]

There won't be any Jokerit any more this time next year. At least no KHL-Jokerit but most probably not any kind of Jokerit at all.

Good riddance!

 

[vorky]

There won't be any Jokerit any more this time next year. At least no KHL-Jokerit but most probably not any kind of Jokerit at all.

Good riddance!

What nonsense!

 

[Jaska]

There won't be any Jokerit any more this time next year. At least no KHL-Jokerit but most probably not any kind of Jokerit at all.

Good riddance!

ATM their fun club is boycoting their games. Ticket sales for home games have not begun and they do not know where they are played. Finnish government is tightening border controls. Russian national anthem played in Helsinki before games. Sponsors are pulling out.

No public comments from Jokerit management!

Jokerit is a tire fire. There is a good change that the KHL Jokerit is done.

 

[vorky]

ATM their fun club is boycoting their games. Ticket sales for home games have not begun and they do not know where they are played. Finnish government is tightening border controls. Russian national anthem played in Helsinki before games. Sponsors are pulling out.

No public comments from Jokerit management!

Jokerit is a tire fire. There is a good change that the KHL Jokerit is done.

Another fantasy man on board! If I am not mistaken, they say сказочник in Russia.

 

[Jaska]

Vorky, let me know which parts of my comment are storytelling? Just sharing facts from Helsinki.

ATM selling Jokeri tickets is as easy as selling Lukashenka t-shirts in Helsinki.

 

[vorky]

Vorky, let me know which parts of my comment are storytelling? Just sharing facts from Helsinki.

ATM selling Jokeri tickets is as easy as selling Lukashenka t-shirts in Helsinki.

Jokerit fans should be heavily happy that the season has finally started. It is time to enjoy the games!

Regarding the boycott. They are making a huge mistake if they really love their team & the game of hockey. They are risking to never see their team again.

Generally, it is always a problem if someone commenting on things which are not his/her business. Here I am not talking about your post, so do not worry.

 

[Exarz]

It is difficult for fans to feel happy that the season has finally started when the management has had zero communication regarding any of the problems that has occurred prior to the season.

There is still no official statement regarding whether or not they will actually play their home games in Helsinki (with less than one week to the first home game). Morozov apparently stated that all border-related issues have been taken care off, but the club itself has not stated anything

The whole situation regarding Minsk is very difficult to bring up without making it political. There are a lot of issues related to this, both from Jokerit, the league and Belarus

• Jokerit has barely made any comments regarding the situation about playing in Minsk. A lot of the damage done could have been dodged by putting the cards on the table and stating the actual facts of why they have to travel to Minsk. The total silence just make them look like utterly cowards that are unable to handle a crisis.
• Apparently, according to the rulebook, a forfeit would mean a 0-5 loss and around a 33,000 euro fine. However, Morozov stated that not playing the game could lead to the club being expelled from the league. I don't know the whole rulebook by heart, but this threat seems ridiculous and like borderline blackmailing, which is not really strengthening the views of the league in Finland
• The fact that the Dinamo Minsk is financed by Lukashenko makes it even more problematic, and could be seen as a huge PR boost for Lukashenko if the game is played. If the team did not have the extremely tight connection to the president, I believe this would be a less major issue.

And regarding that they are making a huge mistake due to the risk of never seeing them play again, that is not really the case. The club would just be revitalised in the Finnish league system, which more and more supporters are leaning towards due to this whole situation of the club's extremely bad PR, the lack of communication and the situation that has forced them into a political catch 22 situation. There is even a petition going on that Jokerit's junior teams (Jokerit Ry who is the official "owner" of the logo") shall void the licensing to the KHL-part as they do not wish to have the logo tied to this mess. And this is an actual scenario that could happen, as Jokerit Ry is member's owned.

 

[Jaska]

No statement from Jokerit's management, butthe team did not show up at airport and the flight Helsinki-Minsk is canceled.

Finnair flight AY7501 - Flightradar24

 

[broman]

The right call. Better late than never.

 

[DuckJazz]

Joker

Regarding the boycott. They are making a huge mistake if they really love their team & the game of hockey. They are risking to never see their team again.

Some things are bigger than sports. This is one of them.

 

[vorky]

It is difficult for fans to feel happy that the season has finally started when the management has had zero communication regarding any of the problems that has occurred prior to the season.

There is still no official statement regarding whether or not they will actually play their home games in Helsinki (with less than one week to the first home game). Morozov apparently stated that all border-related issues have been taken care off, but the club itself has not stated anything

The whole situation regarding Minsk is very difficult to bring up without making it political. There are a lot of issues related to this, both from Jokerit, the league and Belarus

• Jokerit has barely made any comments regarding the situation about playing in Minsk. A lot of the damage done could have been dodged by putting the cards on the table and stating the actual facts of why they have to travel to Minsk. The total silence just make them look like utterly cowards that are unable to handle a crisis.
• Apparently, according to the rulebook, a forfeit would mean a 0-5 loss and around a 33,000 euro fine. However, Morozov stated that not playing the game could lead to the club being expelled from the league. I don't know the whole rulebook by heart, but this threat seems ridiculous and like borderline blackmailing, which is not really strengthening the views of the league in Finland
• The fact that the Dinamo Minsk is financed by Lukashenko makes it even more problematic, and could be seen as a huge PR boost for Lukashenko if the game is played. If the team did not have the extremely tight connection to the president, I believe this would be a less major issue.

And regarding that they are making a huge mistake due to the risk of never seeing them play again, that is not really the case. The club would just be revitalised in the Finnish league system, which more and more supporters are leaning towards due to this whole situation of the club's extremely bad PR, the lack of communication and the situation that has forced them into a political catch 22 situation. There is even a petition going on that Jokerit's junior teams (Jokerit Ry who is the official "owner" of the logo") shall void the licensing to the KHL-part as they do not wish to have the logo tied to this mess. And this is an actual scenario that could happen, as Jokerit Ry is member's owned.

You can call it whatever you want. But Jokerit will be fine.

I see no reason why anybody should officially comment on some rumours or media reports. When they adopt a final decision, they will comment on it. No doubt about it.

And to be honest, the majority of Finnish media, if not all, are biased against Jokerit. It is clear. Yes, the media call it "we are independent", but it is not true. They are politically or whatever motivated. And the media should have never behaved in that way.

Slovak media are the same, it is evident with Slovan Bratislava. I would recommend you to follow them. They were biased against the former club´s owner, I would say it was even personal, and now it seems they love the new owner. The media is not there to be on someone´s side or talk against somebody. That is not their business.

Regarding the home games. Do you know how it is difficult to negotiate with the government? The Finnish government in that case. When they have the final decision, they will announce it. They are working now.

This season is going to be the weird one, no doubt about it. But it is good that hockey has started again in Europe. The KHL is the first league in Europe, even in the world, to start playing. And that is a good signal. Hoping all European leagues will follow. Even I am not so sure about the Champions Hockey League. Btw, why do you not demand the CHL to comment their season? Perhaps my googling skills are not the best, but I am not able to find any OFFICIAL statement in recent days saying how they plan to solve the problem with the borders, if they are going to test players & pay for it, what about fans, their opener etc. Nothing. I would recommend the Finnish media to care about this, and not exclusively about Jokerit.

 

[Theokritos]

 

[Exarz]

You can call it whatever you want. But Jokerit will be fine.

I see no reason why anybody should officially comment on some rumours or media reports. When they adopt a final decision, they will comment on it. No doubt about it.

And to be honest, the majority of Finnish media, if not all, are biased against Jokerit. It is clear. Yes, the media call it "we are independent", but it is not true. They are politically or whatever motivated. And the media should have never behaved in that way.

Regarding the home games. Do you know how it is difficult to negotiate with the government? The Finnish government in that case. When they have the final decision, they will announce it. They are working now.

I'll just make small comments regarding these:

1) It is more common up here (at least what I've experienced in both Sweden and Finland) to expect the club to inform it's members/fans of what's going on. Being completely silent creates unnecessary speculations that could've been avoided by just making any comment regarding specifically this situation that has been quite infected from the start.

2) Sure, the majority of the media has had a more "negative" view towards Jokerit, however most of the pressure in this situation has come from the supporters, not the media.

3) This is basically the same comment as the first one, even mentioning anything regarding the situation is better than going radio silent.

Anyway, the game got postponed (which it should've been the day Jokerit asked to postpone it). The fact that the league thought this would go under the radar was quite naive from their part, and they could've avoided this big mess by doing better due diligence.

 

[Exarz]

Rumours in Finnish media states that several Jokerit players received death threats from Belarusians

Sisäpiirilähde: Pelaajat saivat Jokerien koneen pysymään maassa