One of the best ice-ball players in the world, Tuomas Määttä is aware of how the union views his decision to play in Russia.
Tuomas Määttä is one of the best ice ball players in the world. In March, before the semi-final match, he participated in the Z formation. Määtta later said that he did not know what the formation was about. AOP&Youtube screenshot
The Russian ice ball club SKA-Neftjanik announced on Wednesday that the Finnish ice ball star Tuomas Määtä has returned to the club’s ranks.
According to the club, Määttä, 26, has already participated in team training in Khabarovsk.
the chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association Antti Parviainen according to Määtä’s career in the national team is in danger. Parviainen has talked with the player several times.
– When making this decision, he was aware that the most likely solution for the union is that he cannot represent Finland in the national team, Parviainen says.
– According to his own words, he accepts that solution.
The Board of the Ice Hockey Association will hold a meeting on August 19.
– There is no official decision. We didn’t want to do it in advance. It has been discussed with Tuomaks and made clear to him that the federation will probably make a decision that he cannot represent Finland in the national team as long as he represents the Russian club.
The Ice Hockey Federation has no way to influence the players’ decision to go represent the club in the country that expanded the war of aggression in Ukraine at the end of February.
Määtta has been playing in the Russian Super League since 2020.
– In terms of the game license, the issue is that if this had been a new transfer, the association could have prevented the transfer, and would not have approved the international transfer. Now it’s about the fact that the federation has in time accepted its international transfer a little over two years ago. In other words, the papers have not moved through the union in this situation.
– Then the union could have discussed whether it would accept the transfer, but now the papers did not move through the union.
Parviainen did not know if Määtta had signed a completely new contract.
Executive Director of the Ice Hockey Association Tobias Karlsson on the other hand, is of the opinion that Määttä would have signed a new contract with the club.
– I am of the opinion that the contract is for one year.
– The old contract expired in the spring. I don’t know if there was an option. As a union, we have nothing to do with the players’ personal contracts, Karlsson continues.
Player decision
Players are free to move from one club to another, and no law in Finland prevents them from moving to Russia to play.
Each player uses his own judgment in his club transfers. The reason behind Määtä’s move could be, for example, game reasons, as iceball is a big sport in Russia.
– He is an athlete and has made his decision, Karlsson stated.
– It’s his own decision, which he must have thought about over the summer. They are probably related to game matters, but I am the wrong person to comment on the background of the decision.
Määttä played in the club last season as well and participated in making the Z-formation supporting Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war on the ice during the Russian national anthem.
He stated in March Ilta-Sanom, that he didn’t know he was entering a show supporting the war. He apologized for the “uproar he caused”.
Määtä has been chosen four times as Finland’s hockey player of the year. He has also won four World Championship medals in his career.
Tuomas Määttä has won World Championship medals in Finland’s shirt. PDO