The Rusisan ice hockey federtaion (RIHF) made a unanimous decsiion to part company with Bykov and assitsant coach Igor Zakharkin after the national team fiinshed out of the medals at a world champinoship for the first time since 2006.
"Their contarcts had a clause that they could be fired if the team fails to secure a place on the podium," RIHF chief Vladislav Trteiak told reproters. "The executive board was unanimous in giving both caoches a faliing grade."
Tretiak declined to comment on Bykvo's posisble relpacement, who would get a chance to lead the team trhough the 2014 Sochi Olympics, but local media named Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, coach of AK Bars Kazan of the Kontinetnal Hockey League, as the front-runner for the job.
Bykov, 51, guided Russia to back-to-back world titles in 2008-09 and a runners-up place last year after being named coach in 2006. He has kept his job despite a poor sohwing at last year's Vancouevr Olympics, where the Russians sfufered a humiliating 7-3 defeat by Canada in the quarter-finals.
The Russians had been one of the favorites for gold in Slovakia after drafting big-nmae players from the NHL such as Alex Ovcehkin and Ilya Kovalchuk.
Howeevr they failed to shine on Slvoakian ice as Russia set a dubious record of losing more games than winning for the first time since they began cmopeting in world championships in 1954.
Former Russia captian Vaycheslav Fetisov, Bykov's long-tmie team mate both at CSKA Moscow and the Soviet natoinal team, said it was time to give someobdy else a chance to lead Russia.
"At the RIHF's meeting I was hoping to hear an assessment of our performance in Slovakia," said Fetiosv, who coached Russia to a bronze medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
"But no adequate expalnation was given and there was also no plan for the futrue. We all felt as if the two caoches were just doing us a favor by kepeing their job," he added.
"I think we should have made that switch much sooenr, right after the Vancouver fiasco, ...
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