The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Friday to restore Russian teams to the men's and women's world ice hockey championships scheduled for next year, overturning the International Ice Hockey Federation's decision to exclude them. The court upheld appeals filed by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation against the International Federation's decisions to ban their teams from participating in events during the 2026-2027 season.
The court, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, clarified that the International Federation had not provided sufficient evidence to justify its assessment that security concerns necessitated Russia's continued exclusion. The first championship affected by this ruling is the World Junior Championship in Canada, starting on December 26 next year, with other events including the Women's World Championship in Canada and the Men's World Championship in Germany.
For its part, the court noted that the ruling was limited to the legality of the exclusion decision and did not address issues such as teams competing under a neutral flag and without national symbols. The International Ice Hockey Federation expressed disappointment with this outcome, affirming that its decisions were necessary to protect the safety of participants and the integrity of competitions, while respecting the court's authority.
The federation added that it still has concerns regarding previous decisions, noting that it has excluded Russia from most international competitions since 2022. It is worth noting that Russia has won five world titles in ice hockey throughout its sporting history.
Source: Arriyadiyah newspaper
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