MOSCOW, Feb 7, Pavel Levkovich. Playing in a mask entails an additional stress for the body, it is strictly prohibited, said Nikita Karlitsky, chief physician of the academy of the Moscow football club Spartak, Nikita Karlitsky. Ice hockey players of the Canadian and Russian national teams play in masks in the group stage match of the Beijing Olympics. Initially, the Canadian team wanted to wait for the results of tests for the coronavirus of Russian hockey players. Then it was announced that the meeting was postponed for an hour. Subsequently, the Canadians appeared on the ice, but all the players of both teams, as well as the referees, went to the match in medical masks. According to journalist Julia Stuart-Binks on her microblog on Twitter, hockey players will play in masks until the results of tests for the coronavirus of the Russian team are ready. «The issue of playing in a mask has long been resolved, since the beginning of the pandemic. «It's impossible, and the Canadian team knows it. I don't know if there is an exact ban, each country and region has its own rules. The main thing is that athletes cannot train and play in masks, because there is a lot of stress on the body and a lack of oxygen begins.» — said Karlitsky. After the second period, the Canadians beat the Russians with a score of 4:1. Prior to this meeting, the Canadian team had six points, the Russian team had three points.
