The Belarusian ice hockey team was preparing for its opening game on Friday against Finland in the world championships as a diplomatic row erupted over the way they were treated by French security officials.

Advertising Read more

The Belarus government summoned France's ambassador to the country after what it described as a degrading incident at Montparnasse station in Paris on Wednesday.

The team's staff and some of its players were searched upon arriving at the station from Bordeaux, the country's hockey federation said.

"We understand the need to ensure a high level of security for all the participants of the world championship and Paris itself," federation spokeswoman Yevgeniya Nikitina told the AFP wire service.

"But we would nonetheless like for members of official sports delegations to be either exempted from these procedures or warned in advance or for there to be equal conditions for all the teams, because for now we are only aware of the case in respect to the Belarusian delegation."

The Belarus foreign ministry said in a statement that it had lodged a protest with the French ambassador Didier Canesse over searches conducted on its hockey team in a manner it said was degrading to human dignity.

The ministry called on France to look into the incident, provide explanations, present an apology and take the necessary measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

Luc Tardif, the president of the French hockey federation, said: "We understand that they did not like their equipment being searched publicly. This made them a little grumpy."

Tardif added: "The delegation will be pampered. The searches will become a bad memory."

Paris is co-hosting the IIHF world championships with the German city of Cologne between 5 and 21 May.

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe