Several countries threatened to boycott the 2027 World Men's Ice Hockey Championship, scheduled to be held in Germany, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a decision allowing Russia to participate in the competitions.
Following the position of Finland, the world champion, Norway also announced that it would not play any matches against Russia.
The Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation said in a statement on Tuesday: “Our position remains firm. As long as the war in Ukraine continues, Russia should be excluded from all international tournaments.”
The statement added: “We are currently working to mobilize the largest possible number of countries to form a united front, with the aim of conveying a message to the International Ice Hockey Federation that none of us will play against Russia under these circumstances.”
For his part, Heikki Hietanen, President of the Finnish Federation, said: “We are bringing together the largest possible number of countries to form a united front, to assure the International Ice Hockey Federation that we will not face Russia under these circumstances.”
Meanwhile, Germany is considering the possibility of waiving the right to host the tournament.
A German government spokesman said on Sunday: “The German government will discuss with the German Ice Hockey Association, as soon as possible, the potential consequences of this decision, including its impact on the 2027 World Championships in Germany.”
Last July, the International Olympic Committee lifted the ban imposed on the Russian Olympic Committee, paving the way for the gradual return of Russian teams to the sports arena, despite the continuing war in Ukraine.
However, the International Ice Hockey Federation had taken a prior decision to continue excluding Russian teams during the current season, justifying this with security concerns.
But after Russia filed an appeal, CAS concluded, in its unanimous decision, that the security concerns raised by the International Federation were not supported by sufficient evidence.
Norway has decided to refuse to face Russia during the World Ice Hockey Championship scheduled for next year in Germany due to the invasion of Ukraine, according to what it announced on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of its neighbor Finland, which announced a similar decision a day before.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Scandinavian countries have been resolute in their opposition to Moscow and their support for Kiev.
The International Ice Hockey Federation imposed a ban on Russia; Because of its invasion of Ukraine, but on October 30, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered him to allow Russian national teams to participate in its tournaments for the 2026-2027 season.
The ruling came after the completion of the approval of the list of participating teams and the conduct of the group draw, without providing any guidance on how to include Russia in the tournament scheduled to be held in Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Mannheim between May 13 and 30, 2027.
The International Federation expressed its opposition to the CAS decision, saying it had “major practical repercussions.”
The Norwegian Federation said in a statement on Tuesday: “The Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation has decided, based on the current situation and available information, that Norway will not face Russia during the World Championship in 2027.”
He added: “Our position calling for excluding Russia from all international tournaments throughout the period of the war in Ukraine remains firm.”
The federation indicated that Norway will play the rest of its matches in the group according to the scheduled program and the draw it placed in Group Two, alongside Canada, the United States, Czechia, Slovakia, Denmark, Kazakhstan and Hungary.
For its part, the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation announced on Monday that it would use “all possible means to prevent Russia from being returned to the World Championship.”
Federation President Heikki Hyitanen said: “We are currently seeking to rally as many countries as possible in a united front to inform the International Ice Hockey Federation that none of us will face Russia in light of the current situation.”
The Finnish city of Turku also announced on Monday that it will withdraw from hosting the 2027-2028 edition of the World Youth Ice Hockey Championship if Russia is allowed to participate.
The Swedish sponsor company, AJ Products, the official partner of the tournament since 1989, announced that it would remove all of its advertisements, including the logos placed on the referees’ uniforms, while the Czech sponsor company, Type Sports, said that it did not want its advertisements to appear during matches in which Russia participated.
The career of Jesus de Miguel, the Spanish Tenerife striker, was not full of success or surrounded by limelight from its beginning. Rather, the Madrid player needed years of work and movement between clubs before he imposed his name in Spanish football, and reached the second division, where he finally found the appreciation he had always sought, before his journey ended tragically following a collision during his team’s confrontation with Andorra, on Tuesday.
Di Miguel was born in Madrid on September 21, 1996, and he occupied the position of spearhead, benefiting from his strong physical structure and his height of 1.90 meters, in addition to his ability to play with his back to the goal and be present inside the penalty area. But he needed to go through many milestones before he got his chance at the higher levels.
According to the Spanish newspaper AS, he began his career in the Spanish third division with Leganes during the 2017-2018 season, and played 35 matches between the league and the qualifying round, during which he scored 9 goals. He then moved to Fuenlabrada, where he played his first match in the Second Division (B), before he was loaned to Unión Adarvi, then he moved to Navalcarneiro, where he regained his attacking presence by scoring 11 goals in 27 matches, including a goal in the promotion play-off final against Alcorcon Reserves.
In the 2020-2021 season, he participated in 17 matches, during which he scored 4 goals and provided an assist, before moving to Unionistas Salamanca, where he needed some time to prove himself, but he gradually succeeded in grabbing a starting place. The turning point came on January 26, 2022, when he led his team to victory over Internacional Madrid with two unanswered goals, after scoring one goal and assisting another.
He ended his first season with the team with a remarkable performance, as he played 38 matches in the league and cup, and contributed to 16 goals, scoring 12 goals and assisting 4 others, so that his name began to attract attention outside the circle of clubs that he used to move between.
His most prominent opportunity came in January 2023, when he joined Castellon, starting a new phase in his career. There he found the stability and continuity that he had lacked in his previous stations, and he turned into one of the most prominent offensive elements for the team, after playing 88 matches during two and a half seasons, in which he scored 25 goals.
The 2023-2024 season was his best in the Castellon jersey, after he scored 16 goals and provided 6 assists in 38 matches, and his performance contributed to the team’s promotion to the second division, achieving an important step in a career that took many years to build.
In July 2025, he moved to Tenerife, where he continued to present himself as an influential striker, and contributed 11 goals in the team’s promotion season, becoming one of the important elements in achieving a return to the second division.
Di Miguel, who was known by the nickname “Demi” among his teammates, was one of the most prominent reasons for the team’s success last season, especially during the first half of it, when he scored 10 goals in a small number of matches, before an injury kept him from participating regularly, without giving up his attempts to regain his place.
Although the striker was not among Tenerife's initial plans before the start of the current season, he received interest from several clubs, including Real Zaragoza, which made a financial offer to include him during the summer, but he chose to remain on the island, preferring to take on the challenge and compete for his place instead of leaving for a new destination.
His decision reflected his insistence on continuing the fight in order to prove his abilities, which he had already begun to achieve, after he gradually regained his position in the team, which was relying on his experience and offensive capabilities.
Aside from his numbers and contributions on the field, Di Miguel was a popular player among his teammates, despite his quiet and introverted nature. After years of moving between clubs and searching for an opportunity to prove himself, he had finally found in Tenerife the place that gave him stability and recognition of his value, before the tragic end came against Andorra, putting an end to a career that had not received the time it deserved.
