Russia must be allowed to return to the ice hockey world championships, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Friday, overturning an exclusion in place since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The move marks a major victory for Russia in the face of efforts to ban it from international sports due to the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin is a recognized hockey fan who has already played exhibition matches with former stars.
CAS canceled IIHF decisions which excluded Russia from events in the 2026-27 season, including the men’s and women’s world championships. Russia too I missed the Olympic tournaments This year.
Russia’s return leaves uncertainty over how men’s world championship will work in Germany next year, since Ukraine is also qualified.
Judgment cites lack of evidence on safety
In a brief statement, CAS cited the lack of sufficient evidence to support the IIHF’s security concerns.
CAS said its decision did not address issues such as whether Russia should be required to play without national symbols as a team of neutral athletes, as in some other Olympic sports, or other “organizational consequences.”
The IIHF expressed disappointment with the decision and said it “maintains that its decisions were necessary to protect the safety and security of all participants and safeguard the integrity of its competitions.”
“While the IIHF respects the authority of CAS and will act in accordance with its decision, the outcome does not allay the concerns that informed its assessments.”
Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov wrote on the social media app Telegram that CAS “recognized as justified the demands of the Russian Hockey Federation on key points.”
Russia’s return causes uncertainty
The decision poses an immediate challenge to new president of the IIHF Franz Reindl, whose native Germany will host the men’s world championship next year.
German Hockey Federation President Frank H. Lutz said Friday that Germany remained opposed to Russia’s participation and that “allowing Russia to participate would have significant security, political and financial consequences for us as host.”
It’s unclear how Russia will fit in, since the draw has already been made.
Adding an additional team would result in uneven brackets and an even longer tournament to accommodate more matches.
Expelling a qualified team to make way for Russia could risk backlash, especially if that team is Ukraine. They were the last to qualify for the Men’s Worlds, ending a 20-year wait, and rank last among the 16 teams currently participating.
The Hockey Federation of Ukraine said it disagreed with the decision and argued that security concerns have only intensified since 2022. Ukraine has not indicated how it will approach the world championship.
The IIHF signaled that “practical arrangements” would be decided after evaluating the decision.
The national hockey federations of Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic all said they were disappointed by the decision, but Swedish Ice Hockey Association president Anders Larsson told Swedish news agency TT that “a boycott is not on the table.” Finland said individual players could withdraw from tournaments including Russia.
The Russian could return to the World Juniors
The first tournament Russia could return to is the Junior Men’s World Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, Canada, which begins on December 26.
Other events covered by the decision are the women’s under-18 world championship in Canada in November 2027, the men’s under-18 world championship which begins in April in Minnesota and the women’s under-18 world championship in the Czech Republic in January.
A Russian team playing under its national flag, rather than as a neutral team, could have political repercussions in the Czech Republic.
“As the president has repeatedly stated in the past, as long as Russian aggression continues, he considers it appropriate to ban the participation of athletes under the Russian and Belarusian flags,” Czech Presidential spokesman Petr Pavel said.
The women’s world championships which begin next week in Denmark are not covered by the decision. This competition was initially part of the 2025-26 season, but moved to November so it was not consecutive to the Olympic Games.
In men’s world championship history, Russia or the Soviet Union’s 27 titles are second only to Canada’s 28. The last time Russia won the gold medal was in 2014. Russia’s best result at the women’s world championships is bronze.
Since 2022, Russia has held exhibition matches with developmental teams, primarily against neighbors Belarus and Kazakhstan. The IIHF also excluded Belarus, citing the same concerns as for Russia. Friday’s CAS decision made no mention of Belarus.
Decision does not apply to NHL World Cup
Although the CAS decision has no effect on the NHL, league officials have said they will follow the lead of the international community regarding Russian participation.
The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association are hosting the 2028 World Cup of Hockey without the IIHF and national federations.
Asked about Russia last month, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said: “I think we know what we think about the World Cup of Hockey. We don’t need to make that decision yet, and the more information you have to make a decision, the better the decision will be.”
Russia also seeks return to football and athletics
The hockey victory at CAS is part of a broader shift in the Olympic movement toward the reintegration of Russia, which had only small teams of “neutral athletes” at the 2024 Paris Olympics and this year’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Swimming and volleyball allowed Russia to compete under its national flag this year. The International Olympic Committee facilitated his approach also, with a Russian team at the Youth Olympics this week.
Russia’s next priority could be football, where its national teams and clubs remain excluded from major competitions.
Russian Football Federation Secretary General Maxim Mitrofanov said it should be a “one rule for all”, in comments reported by the official Tass news agency.
FIFA and European governing body UEFA have excluded Russian teams from World Cup and Champions League qualifying since 2022, when FIFA told CAS that threats to boycott Russia’s next opponents risk making the World Cup “chaotic”.
FIFA has allowed a Russian men’s team to play under its national flag in the inaugural Under-15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan, which began last week and ends on Saturday.
The Russian athletics federation said Friday that the hockey decision had given it “confidence” in itself. CAS case against World Athletics, the last major Olympic sport with a blanket ban on Russian athletes.
___
Stephen Whyno in New York and Karel Janicek in Brno, Czech Republic, contributed to this report.
___
See AP’s full sports coverage here
Gn sports
