The IIHF issued seven players with provisional suspensions for match-fixing ©Getty Images

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) issued seven players with provisional suspensions for match-fixing.

The players have been suspended for their participation in a match-fixing violation during a league game of the Belarus Extraliga Championship.

This includes Russia's Stanislav Kuchkin and Alexei Ivanov, and Belarus's Pavel Boyarchuk, Vyacheslav Lisichkin, Nikita Ustinenko, Sergei Sheleg and Alexander Syrei. 

Ustinenko has represented Belarus at the 2015, 2016 and 2018 World Championships. 

All seven players were involved in Mogilyov's 6-5 victory against Dynamo Molodechno on November 12 2019.

Nikita Ustinenko of Belarus is among the seven players to receive provisional suspensions ©Getty Images
Nikita Ustinenko of Belarus is among the seven players to receive provisional suspensions ©Getty Images

The Central Office of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus then opened an investigation into the match on November 13. 

During the investigation, each of the players admitted that they had agreed to exert an unlawful influence on the outcome of the game in exchange for illegal remuneration.

The case will now be referred to the IIHF Disciplinary Board for further review and sanctioning.