Russia will miss the World Junior Ice Hockey Championship in Canada — IIHF statement
Kyiv • UNN
Canada will not admit Russian athletes and officials to the tournament because of the war against Ukraine. Norway has been reinstated among the participants.
Russia will miss the 2027 World Junior Championship due to entry restrictions imposed by the Canadian government. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced this on Sunday, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
The IIHF said it had considered alternative options but decided to keep Canada as the host country. The tournament will take place from December 26 to January 5 in the cities of Edmonton and Red Deer.
Citing Russia’s war against Ukraine, Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden told Reuters on Wednesday that Canada would deny entry to Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials arriving to participate in competitions — even those who hold valid visas.
The IIHF suspended the teams of both countries in 2022, after Moscow launched its invasion from the territories of Russia and Belarus. However, last month the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the federation must reinstate Russian teams in five championships.
The World Junior Championship became the first of the five tournaments covered by the court’s October 30 ruling. The IIHF said it disagreed with the decision but would comply with it.
In addition
Earlier, Prime Minister (in the context of the statement, a government representative) Mark Carney said that Canada would not allow Russian athletes to compete for their country on Canadian soil. Some interpreted this as a hint that they might participate as neutral athletes.
Van Koeverden clarified that Canada permits only individual athletes to participate under neutral status, ruling out such an opportunity for the Russian national team as a team.
The Russian Ice Hockey Federation called the IIHF’s decision "unacceptable and unlawful" and said it would appeal to the International Olympic Committee to resolve the situation.
"The IIHF’s decision was made exclusively for political reasons," the statement said.
"The suspension of the Russian national team violates fundamental legal principles, the ideals of Olympism, the principle of non-discrimination, equality among athletes, as well as the integrity of international tournaments."
The Norwegian Ice Hockey Association said that its junior national team (U-20) had been reinstated among the participants. It had previously been told that it would have to give up its place to Russia because it had the lowest ranking among all the teams in the tournament. "We are very happy for the players, coaches and everyone involved in Norwegian hockey, because they earned this place by securing promotion last year," said the association’s secretary general, Petter Salsten.
"The team had been waiting for this for an entire year, but spent the last month in a state of uncertainty."
Norway said that the pre-tournament training camp and games in Canada would take place as planned.
The possible return of Russia to international hockey has prompted boycott threats ahead of the men’s World Championship, which is scheduled to take place next year in Germany.
Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden said they would refuse to play against Russia. One sponsor has already ended its cooperation, while others warned that they might do the same if Russia participates in the competition.
The German Ice Hockey Federation called on the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to clarify the arrangements for the men’s World Championship.
"We need certainty for planning the home World Championship in May — for the teams, the fans and all partners," said federation president Frank Lutz. "Therefore, we demand immediate clarification from the IIHF."
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that countries opposing decisions allowing Russia to return to international sport were violating the rights of Russian athletes and democratic institutions.