Foreign hockey players banned after participating in Putin's tournament in Russia

The Estonian hockey players who took part in the Games of the Future digital tournament in Kazan have been disqualified in their country. The Estonian Ice Hockey Federation (EJL) has suspended the licenses of these players, the EJL press service reports.

The Federation did not publish the names of the athletes who were sanctioned.

It is worth noting that Vladimir Bashkirov, Dmitry Kuznetsov and Otar Sakhokia are competing in the Russian Federation as part of the Baltic Select team. They represent Välk 494 from Tartu. Kovalev used to play for the Estonian national hockey team.

As part of the digital hockey tournament, participants first play a hockey simulator and then play a 3-on-3 match on the ice.

In the semifinals, players from the Baltic states lost to Russians with COSMOS X17 with a score of 4:11. Baltic Select will play the bronze medal match on February 24 against the hosts, Ak Bars digital club.

The word "figital" is a mix of two words: physical and digital. At first, teams fight each other on a game console, and then find out who is the strongest on a real court. The final result is formed by the sum of virtual and real goals scored.

The Games are believed to be initiated and inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invented the competition to promote propaganda ideas.

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