The federal government is looking for a solution so that the Ice Hockey World Cup can continue to take place in Germany in May 2027. As government spokesman Stefan Kornelius explained after discussions with, among others, the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) and the World Association IIHF, both associations want to be supported accordingly. Apparently a solution should also be found through diplomatic channels without Russia's participation.
“Our goal must be to hold the tournaments as planned,” said Kornelius. "In view of the boycotts if Russia were admitted, that would actually not be possible. And that's why we now actually want to explore options through discussions as to how we can still allow the tournament to take place."
The International Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) caused a lack of understanding not only in Germany with its ruling to lift the IIHF's suspension of Russian teams from World Championships in 2027 since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The Russian Ice Hockey Association had appealed to the CAS against the exclusion by the world association. After the verdict, numerous nations announced that they would boycott possible World Cup games against Russia. Important World Cup sponsors also want to withdraw from the tournament if Russia is actually allowed to take part.
The DEB had considered returning the winning organization of the 2027 World Cup and also contacted the federal government. "For me it is important that we now resolve the situation in ice hockey. It is actually very burdened by the withdrawal announcement of many associations. The federal government is supporting the German Ice Hockey Association in its efforts to find an amicable solution here," said Kornelius.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, accused some countries of being unwilling to respect commitments they had made, he told Russian government officials. Putin blamed the unspecified countries for political restrictions against Russian athletes. He spoke of a gross violation of the law, of judicial decisions and thus of democratic institutions.
Associations such as Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway and Latvia have announced that they will not compete against Russia as long as there is a war of aggression against Ukraine. Host Canada had already announced that it would not issue visas to Russian athletes for the U20 World Cup in December and January.
At the Germany Cup currently taking place in Düsseldorf, the German national players did not want to comment on the topic. “The DEB has given its word on this, and we’ll leave it at that,” said former NHL striker Tobias Rieder from EHC Red Bull Munich. Striker Dominik Bokk from the Kölner Haien also commented accordingly: “The DEB has made a statement, we are concentrating on ourselves and not thinking about it too much.”
In the said statement, DEB board chairman Frank Lutz described the ruling as a fundamental change in the initial situation for the World Cup: “An approval of Russia has significant security-related, political and economic consequences for us as hosts.” Lutz later brought up returning the World Cup as a “possible option”. The world ice hockey association with German President Franz Reindl has been discussing how to proceed after the CAS ruling since Monday - so far without any result.
For Latvia's national ice hockey coach Arturs Irbe, the world association is to blame for the ruling on the return of Russian teams. “It's very simple: the IIHF's justification for excluding them from international competition was very weak and didn't really address the actual concerns,” said the long-time NHL goaltender at the Germany Cup.
The CAS also pointed out the lack of evidence from the umbrella organization in a statement. Irbe believes that these are “probably more of a diplomatic nature than a real justification for why they are not allowed to participate.”
