Russia and Belarus have been banned from all international ice hockey since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The ban was formally justified on security grounds.
Last week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the ban on Russia.
The IIHF has previously said that the countries’ participation would be assessed from tournament to tournament. It has now announced that Belarus will be banned from both the World Championships in Canada, which begin in December, and next year’s World Championships in Germany.
The federation also says it is assessing how CAS’s decision to allow Russia to participate can be implemented in a way that “protects the financial stability of the organization” and “ensures the long-term future of the sport”.
“Finding a constructive path”
The IIHF says it will therefore initiate a dialogue with the federations affected, including the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, “to find a constructive way forward”.
Finland was the first to announce that it did not intend to play matches against Russian national teams. Sami Kauhanen, CEO of the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation, says that this has not changed following the IIHF’s announcement:
“Finland has already made its position clear to the IIHF: we will not play against Russia as long as the war of aggression against Ukraine continues,” he told the federation’s website.
“Cannot be played”
“The World Cup cannot be played if Russia is allowed to participate. A significant number of countries have already refused to play against Russia,” he also said.
Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia and the Czech Republic have followed Finland’s lead and announced that they will refuse to play against Russia.
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