Yohann Auvitu will miss the World Championship with the France team

Yohann Auvitu, the defender of the France team – and one of the pillars of the selection – will not participate in the next World Championship, scheduled from May 12 to 28 in Finland and Latvia. The 33-year-old player created controversy last summer when he signed for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, a KHL club, the top and prestigious Russian Championship. But this transfer came six months after the military invasion of Ukraine by Russia (with the support of Belarus).

The Finns very upset against his signing in KHL

Auvitu was then ineligible for the France team. Since then, he has been transferred to Geneva-Servette, crowned Swiss champion last week, and could once again claim the French team. But the tricolor player finally gave up playing for the World Championship. Before signing in Russia, Yohann Auvitu played in Finland.

And, there, his departure for the KHL had been very badly accepted, the country having, by its border with Russia, found itself in a very tense geopolitical context. However, the France team will play in Finland, in Tampere, during the World Cup, which could cause some turmoil.

 » In a very sensitive international context, which created a delicate situation for defender Yohann Auvitu, due to his passage in the Finnish then Russian championship, the latter preferred, in agreement with the FFHG (the French Ice Hockey Federation)not be part of the France group during the World Championships, which will be held in Finland “, we learned from the side of the FFHG.