Panin called the decision of Tom Lyams not to leave Salavat Yulaev during the season a huge plus

The captain of Salavat Yulaev, Grigory Panin, spoke approvingly about the act of the ex-head coach of the Finnish team Tommy Lyams, who remained at the club in the spring, despite the departure of his compatriots.

In early March, it became known that all foreign hockey players left the location of the Ufa team, including four Finns: the main goalkeeper Juha Metsola and forwards Markus Granlund, Teemu Hartikainen and Sakari Manninen, as well as Danish defender Philip Larsen.

– Your quote: “The question is why the Lama (Lyamsya) remained. He showed his testicles. This says a lot about a person. We do not condemn the choice, because all adults. But there are those who, by their actions, inspire respect not only from us, but from everyone who knows about the situation.” Was it a pleasant surprise for you and the entire Salavat team that he stayed with the team until the end of the playoffs?

– Well, of course. Can you imagine when all the Finns leave, when all the foreigners leave? When there is pressure on him from all sides, especially there, abroad, in this tolerant European society, which, as I, at least, believed, not in words, but in deeds, is tolerant of everyone and everything.

For me, these double standards that have begun to appear, namely in the sports environment, we are not talking about politics now, they are categorically unacceptable! We are in a sport where a person simply does his job conscientiously.

Yes, he is in another country, but he doesn’t run around the streets with a machine gun, he doesn’t come out with some slogans! Here he applies his skills, which he possesses, for the benefit of hockey. The fact that Lama “showed eggs” is a huge plus for all the guys, and for the team, and for the republic, and for all the fans,” Panin said.Championship“.

Lyamsya left Salavat Yulaev only at the end of last season. He led the Finland U20 youth team. The Ufa team last season reached the ¼ finals of the Gagarin Cup, where they lost in the series to Traktor (2–4).