IOC president Thomas Bach addresses a press conference ahead of the Olympic Games closing ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhang Chen)
PARIS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday expressed a huge disappointment about National Hockey League (NHL)'s refusal to halt the season for three weeks, which forced NHL players to skip the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
"This must be a huge disappointment for the players who definitely wanted to play at the Olympic Winter Gams Pyeongchang 2018. The IOC feels sorry for the athletes," read an IOC statement.
"The decision is even more regrettable, as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) had offered the same conditions to the NHL as at previous Olympic Games, where the insurance and travel costs were covered," it added.
It was the first time since 1998 as NHL refused to adjust their schedule for players' participation in Olympic Winter Games. NHL players toop part in all the five previous Winter Olympics.
However, as many NHL team owners found no tangible interest in a three-week break, along with a mid-season injury risk, the league finally chose to say no to Winter Olympic Games, saying that "a number of months have now passed and no meaningful dialogue has materialized" in a statement.
"Instead, the IOC has now expressed the position that the NHL's participation in Beijing in 2022 is conditioned on our participation in South Korea in 2018. And the NHLPA (NHL Players' Association) has now publicly confirmed that it has no interest or intention of engaging in any discussion that might make Olympic participation more attractive to the clubs.
"As a result, and in an effort to create clarity among conflicting reports and erroneous speculation, this will confirm our intention to proceed with finalizing our 2017-18 regular season schedule without any break to accommodate the Olympic Winter Games. We now consider the matter officially closed," confirmed NHL, who wanted the matter to be resolved before the playoffs began on April 12.
With NHL's decision, star players like Sidney Crosby, who helped Canada clinch gold medals in 2010 and 2014, was set to skip the 2018 edition, while some Russian players in NHL still hoped to feature in Pyeongchang despite their clubs' concern.
Despite NHL players' absence, the IOC still showed its confidence in expecting a spectacular ice hockey tournament ten months from now.
"The IOC, which distributes 90 per cent of its revenue for the development of sport in the world, obviously cannot treat a national commercial league better than not-for-profit International Sports Federations which are developing sport globally.
"The ice hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 will nonetheless be a very exciting one, because the players from all the other professional ice hockey leagues will participate, and will be very much welcomed by their Olympic teams," it said.
