USSR's invasion of Czechoslovakia once sparked a protest by Czechoslovak national hockey team at 1969 World Ice Hockey Championships

In the 1969 World Ice Hockey Championships, Czechoslovakia shocked the world by beating the Soviet Union 2-0 and 4-3 on March 21 and March 28, respectively.

The wins were such a massive upset at the time that approximately 500,000 fans crowded the streets of their cities to celebrate the wins, in protest of the USSR invading Czechoslovakia.

During the game, Czechoslovakian players also expressed their displeasure with the Soviet Union. During the game, players taped over the red star on the logo and even refused handshakes at the end of the game. According to Historian Jan Kalous,

“Some hockey players put black tape over the red star of the Czechoslovak state symbol on their jerseys. In the end, the entire team refused to shake hands with their Soviet opponents. The trainer Pitner, at a press conference, apologised ironically saying normally the losers do congratulate the winners.”

In Prague, the celebrations shaped into protests against the Soviet military as fans vocally cheered in the faces of the military. Although most of these protests were peaceful, some became violent. Reports suggest that protesters attacked Soviet military units and ransacked the Soviet Aeroflot office on Wenceslas Square.

For some players, their victory over the Soviet Union was symbolic. Jan Havel had this to say about the win:

“The tanks rolled in in ’68 … because the nation was united behind hockey and behind beating the Russians and the Soviets got scared.”

Czechoslovakian legend Josef Horesovsky claimed that beating the Soviet Union in hockey showed the world that the Soviets "didn’t have so much control over us."