MOSCOW, Aug 3 Sergey Burlakov, Deputy Head of the Duma Sports Committee, commenting on the suspension hockey club «Sakhalin» from the AHL, said that international organizations can now officially declare the regulation of sports by politics. Earlier, the Russian hockey club «Sakhalin» was suspended from participation in the Asian Hockey League (AHL) with the wording «due to the political situation.»< p>"To say I'm surprised is an understatement. That is, now international sports organizations can officially declare that politics governs sports. The mind is incomprehensible. It turns out that all sports postulates and the Olympic Charter can be burned, since now no one puts the fundamental sports principles in vain", Burlakov said.
According to him, the AHL has always had a priority in the promotion of hockey, the development of talented players , popularization of this sport, and the leadership of the league has always openly declared its intentions to expand the league. «It is bitter to realize that even sports associations that are very interested in Russian teams are not ready to show character and not cave in under the West,» the deputy said.