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.
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.
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 ?
What nonsense!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!
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!
Another fantasy man on board! If I am not mistaken, they say сказочник in Russia.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.
Jokerit fans should be heavily happy that the season has finally started. It is time to enjoy the games!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.
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.
You can call it whatever you want. But Jokerit will be fine.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.
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.