Criticism of the ban on tackling at the Olympics: “I don’t understand it”

In 2022, Sweden became the first country to begin allowing tackles in women’s hockey – that is, tackles that are in the same direction and not on open ice.

Morgan Johansson, project manager and player safety officer at the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, called the rule change “the biggest ever” on the women’s side. Three years ago he told DN that he would be very surprised if the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) did not move in the same direction in the near future.

But the rules have still not changed during the championship – and so tackling is still prohibited at the World Cup and now also at the Olympic tournament in Milan.

So, Morgan Johansson. Are you very surprised?

– Yes, you are. That you didn’t get any further. But I guess I’m an impatient person who wants things done yesterday. But I stand by it: I would be very surprised if we took a different path in the future.

The reviews which The association made its speech clear, said Johansson. The introduction of tackles has led to a better understanding of the game, players are more aware of their surroundings on the ice – and concussions have actually decreased.

Added to this is faster and more entertaining gameplay.

Many ice hockey nations have followed the Swedish project, which led to a permanent rule change, with great interest – tackles are now also allowed in the North American professional league PWHL, in countries such as Switzerland and Norway, and Finland is also set to follow the same path soon.

The fact that the IIHF isn’t picking up the slack baffles Morgan Johansson.

– I think it’s stupid. I don’t understand it, he says and adds:

– But we’ll manage. We have received many inquiries from the International Ice Hockey Federation, including from a medical perspective. At the Swedish Ice Hockey Association we did a research and there is a lot of evidence that there is nothing negative from an injury perspective.

In Swedish The Olympic squad consists of seven players who play college hockey every day, where tackles are not yet allowed. The other 16 belong to either PWHL or Swedish SDHL clubs and will therefore now have to switch to a different set of rules during the tournament in Milan.

The same applies to the German Frölunda player Emily Nix, who was sent off for two minutes in the Olympic premiere against Sweden for a tackle on Mira Jungåker, with which she might have gotten away unscathed in the SDHL.

“It’s obviously something you have to adapt to in your game,” admits Maja Nylén Persson of the New York Sirens.

Would you have liked to see the IIHF follow this example so that it became a unified line?

– Yes. One should strive for it to be the same everywhere. As a player, it would be much easier to understand what the rules are.

Just go there and wait for it to be approved internationally

Her fellow back and Sweden team captain Anna Kjellbin, who plays in Toronto, can only agree:

– I’m so used to being attacked, but when you play internationally you have to “turn that off”. In tight games you have to play a little smarter. Now that it (allowed tackles) has spread, people are just waiting for it to happen internationally. But if you’re waiting for something good…

Exactly why that is Few in Swedish ice hockey seem to be aware that the international regulations have not been adapted to global trends. DN reached out to Kim Pedersen, the IIHF’s rules and sports affairs officer, for an answer, but after learning what the questions were about, he did not return.

Sara Ridderlund, team manager of the Swedish women’s national team and development manager for women’s hockey at the Swedish Hockey Association, and national team manager Anders Lundberg also do not know about them.

– I can’t say that we were told directly by the IIHF that “this is the reason why we don’t change the spelling,” says Anders Lundberg.

I can dispute that this is an explanation that we received

Sara Ridderlund is a former elite player herself and believes that times in women’s hockey are now completely different than when the tackling ban was introduced:

– Women had to be tackled until 1991. Then the IIHF introduced this rule because there were too big differences between different age groups and countries that had developed differently. So the rule was introduced for a reason.

However, the fact that there are nations that are not so advanced in women’s development and where allowing tackles could potentially mean an increased risk of injury is not a stated justification that the Swedish Ice Hockey Association reached 35 years later.

“I can deny that this is an explanation that we received,” says Anders Lundberg, who definitely notes that tackling is a topic that concerns many people at the moment:

– There are countries that really don’t think we should introduce tackles in women’s hockey, and then there are others that are really pushing for us to introduce tackles in the same way as men.

No matter what the IIHF rules are For example, most agree that allowing tackles in these leagues has resulted in the international game becoming more physical. During the Olympics, we can probably expect to see games where referees adjust the level and allow more depending on which teams are clashing.

– It is still a contact sport and there will be hand-to-hand fights, but here you have to be vigilant as the referees can be close on the heels of such situations. It’s important to be smart, says Maja Nylén Persson.

Morgan Johansson claims that the longer the tournaments lasted, the harder the World Cup has been hit in recent years – and now he’s excited to see what it will be like during the Olympics.

– I think that the level will adapt to the players and not that the players have to adapt to the level so much.

– It will be very interesting to see where this goes.

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