Cancelled after three days of competition due to an outbreak of COVID-19, the Men’s World Ice Hockey Championship was not spared from incidents. The series even continued after the tournament ended prematurely. The Canadian press reported that part of the Russian team was forcibly removed from its departure flight at Calgary airport by police. The Czech team was also reportedly forced off the plane before it took off. At issue was the behaviour of some officials and the failure to comply with sanitary measures. According to a passenger on the Air Canada flight from Calgary to Frankfurt, a Russian executive in business class used an electronic cigarette before take-off and refused to wear a mask. Flight attendants made several attempts to enforce the rules, but he refused. After the police intervened, all passengers were forced to leave the plane. The flight was finally able to start, but with a three-hour delay and without the Russian and Czech teams. The Finnish team, on the other hand, would have been allowed to re-board and leave Canada.
