Hungary Iceball Hungarian U21 Iceball World Championship
The U21 Hungarian team was invited to the age-group World Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden, and lost to the Finns 17-0 in the first game on Friday. After the match, it was suspected that one of the Hungarian players had consumed drugs.
“The competition jury, together with the management of the Hungarian national team, decided to send the team home immediately. The incident was reported to the police, the case is being investigated” – wrote the statement of the International Bandy Association. Pär Gustafsson, the general secretary of the Swedish federation and also the competition director of the youth tournament, said that the decision to send the Hungarian team home was completely justified.
In a statement, the Hungarian Sports Federation wrote:
According to the suspicion, a player consumed drugs. The Hungarian Bandy Association condemns behavior unworthy of an athlete, accepts the jury’s decision and supports it in the spirit of zero tolerance. Due to the ongoing process, we cannot share any further information until the investigation is completed.
The Hungarian team management apologized for what happened in a letter in the evening after the federation’s announcement. In a letter sent to the participating teams, the organizing committee of the World Cup, the International and Swedish Bandy Associations, he states that they would like to sincerely apologize on behalf of the Hungarian U21 team.
“We understand that such unacceptable, unsportsmanlike behavior is inappropriate for a World Cup and the sport of bandy. Of course, we accept the jury’s decision and are ready to take part in any proceedings. We completely distance ourselves from the person in question and condemn the behavior,” reads the document, which includes the request that “the Hungarian bandy be judged based on more than thirty years of history and achievements instead of a single case.” The letter concludes by saying, “We are sincerely sorry for the first damage.”