The International Ice Hockey Federation said on Wednesday it maintains its disagreement with a Court of Arbitration for Sport decision to reinstate Russian teams, warning of “significant practical and sporting challenges.” The statement follows announcements from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic that their national teams will refuse to play against Russia at next year’s men’s world championship in Germany. The CAS ruled last week to overturn the governing body’s exclusion of Russia from international competition following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The CAS decision has sparked widespread backlash.
Latvia and Finland have also said their teams will not play Russia, while the Finnish city of Turku threatened to drop hosting duties for the 2028 world junior championship. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Russia and Belarus will be barred from the upcoming world junior championship in Alberta. Moscow criticized the move, with Russian ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov telling news agency TASS that Canada was “bringing politics even into junior hockey.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Carney was flouting the rules of international sport and denying Canadians the chance to uphold a decades-long tradition of matches pitting the two countries against each other.
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