“Don’t play against Russia” – ice hockey world champion draws a clear line

Ice hockey world champion Finland is threatening a boycott after the ruling on the return of Russian teams to international tournaments organized by the world association IIHF. The association said its national teams would not play against Russia in tournaments as long as the war in Ukraine continued.

“Our line is: We will not play against Russia,” said Finnish Ice Hockey Association President Heikki Hietanen in a statement. “We are currently rallying as many countries as possible to a common front to signal to the IIHF that none of us will play against Russia under these circumstances.”

Last week, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) paved the way for the Russians to return to the big ice hockey stage. The arbitration court upheld an appeal by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation against the world association IIHF. It reversed its decision not to admit Russian teams in the 2026/2027 season with immediate effect. This would mean that the Russians would be eligible to play at the World Cup in Germany in May 2027.

Since the end of February 2022, Russia has been excluded from all international tournaments and world championships by the world association due to the war of aggression against Ukraine. A few days before the start of the war, Russia's selection lost 2-1 to Finland in the Olympic final in Beijing.

The city of Turku announced on Monday afternoon that it would not host the 2027 U20 World Cup as planned if Russia took part. “As long as Russia wages a war of aggression in Ukraine, we cannot accept that the Russian national team plays in Turku,” said Mayor Piia Elo. The city hopes that the IIHF and the Finnish state "find a solution that prevents Russia from participating. If the games take place without Russia's participation, Turku will be happy to host them."

The German Ice Hockey Association is currently examining whether it can host the men's World Cup next year as originally planned. "I don't want to do any pessimism. I don't want to question the World Cup either. But of course we as DEB also have to deal with the option of returning this World Cup," said DEB CEO Frank Lutz at MagentaSport at the weekend about the possible consequences of the surprising CAS ruling.

The federal government also views the CAS decision “very critically,” a government spokesman said upon request. “The federal government will promptly discuss with the German Ice Hockey Federation the possible consequences of the ruling, including on the 2027 Ice Hockey World Cup in Germany.”