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Hockey semi an epic
Olympics rules say NHL refs must be used
By Jody Genessy
Deseret News Olympic specialist
Game on.
Despite Russian threats of leaving the Olympics, that is still the word from Russia coach Slava Fetisov and International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel concerning today's hyped U.S.-Russia semifinal hockey showdown.
"The game," said Fasel late Thursday night, "is on."
"We will play," added Fetisov, "and prepare for the game as if nothing happened."
Too late for that.
Playing the already hyped game — the Miracle on Ice reunion with a spot in the gold-medal final on the line — is one thing. But acting like nothing happened is all but impossible at this point after what transpired Thursday.
The Cold War is long over, but the 4:15 p.m. game at the E Center has taken on added political meaning of epic proportions.
On Friday, the Russian parliament passed a resolution demanding North American referees be barred from the semifinal game. That, however, is not possible according to IIHF technical official Symon Szemberg. There is a clause in the contract with the NHL that the league's referees will be used in any game during the Olympics in which more than 50 percent of the players are NHLers. Almost all of the U.S. and Russian players compete in the NHL. All of the referees used by the NHL are from Canada or the United States.
"The game is on and NHL referees must do the game," said Szemberg, from Poland. "There is no way we can break this deal right now. It's an agreement."
So much for Fetisov's desires, which were expressed Thursday afternoon before all the brouhaha broke out.
"We're gonna sell this game," he said, "with hockey and not politics."
E-MAIL: jody@desnews.com
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February 22, 2002
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