Latvian National Team has criminal complaint filed against them after Bronze Medal win
The Latvian Men's National Team is having the time of their lives right now after winning the country's first-ever medal at a IIHF event by taking home the Bronze medal after defeating the United States in overtime on Sunday.
The team arrived back in Riga early on Monday and were greeted in the city center with thousands upon thousands of fans there to celebrate the historic accomplishment.
But while the team is celebrating their victory, the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation has come under fire for a jersey sponsor they wore throughout the tournament.
According to HockeyNewsHub on Twitter, the Latvian National Team could be in trouble for wearing a gambling sponsor on the sleeves of their jerseys. The reason being is that the Finnish Lotteries Act prohibits gambling organizations in other countries to promote their services in Finland.
On Tuesday, more information has come out regarding the news and it appears that Latvia did not break any Finnish rules because the sponsor on their uniform was "OlyBet Sports Bar" and not "OlyBet". They're reportedly two separate entities and OlyBet Sports Bar is exactly what it says, a sports bar, but it also offers gambling.
Despite the Latvian National Team not breaking any Finnish laws, a criminal complaint was filed against them. IIHF Secretary General Matti Nurminen commented on the news regarding the criminal complaint.
Note: the following quote was translated from Finnish.
He added, "In my previous job, we cooperated with the Police Board on the matter, and the interpretation then was that fixed advertisements (e.g. sideboard advertisements) are not possible, but game uniform advertisements, which each country decides for itself and which are mobile, are. But as said, let the authorities do their job."
There was indeed a criminal complaint launched against the team.
Matti Nurminen, Secretary General of the International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF, commented on the incident via text message to Iltalehti.
- Let the authorities do their job.https://t.co/j7LXS5JOWI� Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) May 30, 2023
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Will Latvia win a medal at next year's World Championship? | ||
| Yes | 31 | 16.3 % |
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| Seems doubtful, this year was a fluke | 61 | 32.1 % |
| See Results | 12 | 6.3 % |
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