Growing number of countries are resisting Russia’s reintegration into international hockey after a sports court lifted a ban on competition
Canada has joined a coalition of countries refusing to play ice hockey teams from Russia, with prime minister Mark Carney saying Russian skaters will not be able to compete in a world junior championship next month due to the war in Ukraine.
“While Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal, unjustified, horrific war in Ukraine, as long as that’s going on, there will be none of those athletes competing for their countries in Canada,” Carney told reporters on Tuesday.
Carney’s comments follow announcements by a growing number of national hockey federations that they will not play Russian teams, after a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to allow Russians to compete in International Ice Hockey Federation (IHF) events.
An IIHF ban on Russian teams took effect after Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been extended annually.
After several appeals by Russia’s hockey federation, the CAS finally lifted the ban on Friday, contending safety and security worries “were not supported by sufficient evidence”.
On Monday, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association asked other nations to stand up against the decision. Federations representing Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Latvia and the Czech Republic announced Tuesday they sided with Finland.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha on Tuesday thanked European nations for “refusing to share the ice with Russia”.
“If CAS lacks a moral compass, let’s show that hockey still has values,” he said in a post on X. “Refuse to play against Russia and deny visas to its players. Keep Russia off the ice! A war of aggression and hockey are incompatible.”
The Norwegians were the first to announce on Tuesday their intention to play games in tournaments against all teams but those involving Russia.
“Our position that Russia should be excluded from all international championships as long as the war in Ukraine continues … remains unchanged,” Norway’s federation posted to social media.
“At this time, this decision is based on our responsibility to protect the safety and wellbeing of our players, team staff and their families. We believe playing against Russia under the current circumstances could expose our players and team staff to significant security risks.”
Similar statements followed from the other three nations.
The CAS ruling has left cities worldwide to decide whether they will host upcoming tournaments, as planned, should Russians compete as the war continues in Ukraine.
The world junior tournament is scheduled to begin 26 December in Alberta.
