Ice hockey axing its championship ‘an unfortunate decision’

Ice Hockey Australia’s moves to abandon world championship matches in Melbourne over fears of Israel’s presence being a safety risk is an ‘unfortunate decision’, Anthony Albanese says.

Ice Hockey Australia president and director Ryan O’Handley.

Ice Hockey Australia’s moves to abandon world championship matches in Melbourne over fears of Israel’s presence being a safety risk is an “unfortunate decision”, Anthony Albanese says.

While the Coalition has called the Ice Hockey move a mark of how badly the Albanese government has handled growing anti-Semitism in Australia, the Prime Minister said ice hockey was a sport most Australians were unfamiliar with.

He also said that Australia could continue be a host for global sporting events and his government was committed to stamping out anti-Semitism.

“We’ve just hosted a wonderful cricket Test series and you were just commenting in the sports section there about the upcoming Australian Open … Australia can host wonderful sporting events and we should,” Mr Albanese told the Nine Network on Tuesday.

“This is a decision made by Ice Hockey Australia. They’re not a body … I’m familiar with, and it’s not a sport I’m familiar with, like most Australians, I think.

“But we should be opposed, and we are as a country, to any form of racism, but particularly to anti-Semitism. And we are a tolerant country that has got to have respect for every person, regardless of their faith, regardless of their ethnicity, just to respect ­people for who they are. And this is an unfortunate decision.”

In a “strictly confidential” email obtained by The Australian, IHA president and director Ryan O’Handley advised the International Ice Hockey Federation’s executive body on December 30 that the World Men’s Division II (Group A) championships would be canned because of safety and security concerns associated with Israel’s participation.

The event, scheduled for April-May, was expected to be a landmark occasion for Australian sports, marking the first time since 2011 this country would host the division championships. At this stage, there has been no official announcement from the IIHF or the Australian federation.

Victoria Police said it had provided feedback about protest activity in Melbourne, but any decision to cancel the event “was one for Ice Hockey Australia”.

“We understand that people are concerned following the synagogue fire in Ripponlea on 6 December; however, there are currently no known or specific threats to any Victorian organisation, infrastructure or event, and police encourage people to go about their daily business,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

In his email, Mr O’Handley claimed concerns over Israel’s participation were first raised in October when Victoria Police warned IHA of a “high chance of an incident” during the ­championship.

The nation’s peak Jewish body labelled the cancellation a “dreadful” and “dangerous” capitulation, and called for the state and federal sport ministers to intervene.

“This is a dreadful decision and should be rescinded,” Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said.

“It cannot be that violent extremists dictate which visiting sporting teams come to our country and deprive Australians of the joy of watching live international sports.

“They are playing directly into the hands of thugs and racists who have calculated that their ­violence and threats will lead to Israelis being abandoned and cut adrift.

“We urge the governing body to reconsider its position and expect that the Minister for Sport will intervene to ensure this dangerous capitulation does not stand.”

Australia last hosted the division championships in 2011 and won gold with a team featuring history-making NHL star Nathan Walker.

Israel’s expected opponents in the games would have included Australia, Belgium, Serbia, The Netherlands and the UAE.