Finland Says It Will Refuse to Play Russia at Next Year’s Ice Hockey World Championship

We have established our position: Finland will not play against Russia, Finnish Ice Hockey Federation chairman Heikki Hietanen told Swedish Yle.

On Friday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that Russia will be allowed to compete in the men's World Championship in Germany in May, among other events.

Wants other countries to join

Hietanen said Finland wants to join forces with the other Nordic countries and major European ice hockey nations, with the aim of getting as many countries as possible to follow Finland's lead.

If enough countries boycott matches against Russia, it will of course be impossible to hold the championship, Hietanen said.

Hietanen did not want to reveal which countries are on Finland's side. He told Yle that several federations are still discussing the issue with their respective boards.

Swedish Ice Hockey Association chairman Anders Larsson told TT on Friday that Sweden would not boycott future championships.

Swedish sport has been discussing this ever since the war broke out. We will express our opinion and position, and vote accordingly, but a boycott is not an option, Anders Larsson said.

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Germany may be considering withdrawing as host of the World Championship, which will be played in Gelsenkirchen, Mannheim and Düsseldorf.

We must of course consider the possibility, German Ice Hockey Federation CEO Frank H. Lutz told MagentaTV.

“Extremely unexpected”

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has barred Russian national teams from competitions since the 2022 championship following the invasion of Ukraine. But the decision was overturned on Friday after Russia's appeal was heard by CAS.

It is impossible to say anything other than that it was extremely unexpected. "The signal is clear - Russia is welcome back, which goes against the decisions we have made [in the IIHF]. It is also a completely different position from the one we in Swedish ice hockey stand for," Anders Larsson, who also sits on the IIHF board, told TT.