Sports Court Orders Russian Hockey Teams Back Into World Championships After Four-Year Ban

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Friday that Russian teams can compete in next year’s men’s and women’s world championships, overturning International Ice Hockey Federation decisions to exclude them from its competitions, Reuters reported.

The court upheld appeals lodged by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation against the federation barring its teams from participating in events during the 2026-27 season. The Lausanne-based court said the federation had not presented sufficient evidence to justify its assessment that security concerns required Russia’s continued exclusion from its competitions.

The first tournament affected by the ruling is the men’s world junior championship in Canada starting on December 26, Reuters reported. Other events covered include next year’s women’s world championship in Canada and the men’s world championship in Germany.

What the ruling does not decide

The court said the ruling was limited to the legality of the exclusion decisions and did not address whether Russian teams should compete under a neutral flag and without national symbols, as athletes from the country have done in other sports, Reuters reported. NBC Sports reported that the court did not rule on whether they must be neutral teams or whether national symbols are allowed.

The federation said it was disappointed by the outcome. In a statement quoted by Reuters, it said: “The IIHF disagrees with this aspect of the ruling and maintains that its decisions were necessary to protect the safety and security of all participants and safeguard the integrity of its competitions.” The statement added: “While the IIHF respects the authority of CAS and will act in accordance with its ruling, the outcome does not remove the concerns that informed its assessments.” NBC Sports reported that the federation said the ruling has practical implications for competitions already at an advanced stage of preparation, and that it will urgently assess the steps and time required to give effect to the ruling.

Ban dated to the 2022 invasion

The federation has excluded Russia from most international ice hockey competitions since 2022, following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported. NBC Sports reported that the court set aside a federation council decision from earlier this year to extend a ban that had been in place for more than four years, and that Russian teams must be allowed to return to world championship competition in 2027 for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On July 7, the International Olympic Committee lifted its recommended restrictions on athletes from Russia in international sports, NBC Sports reported, although whether Russians or teams of Russians can compete in world championships is up to international sports federations like the federation. Russia has won five world titles as an independent nation, Reuters reported.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and NBC Sports.