Canada Bars Russia From Alberta World Juniors as Six European Federations Refuse to Play Russian Teams

Canada has told the hockey world that Russia will not play on its ice.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking Tuesday at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, said Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to represent their countries in Canada as long as the war in Ukraine goes on. He was asked whether Russian players would be denied visas.

"While Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal and 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 said. "So if you're asking specifically about the world juniors, the Russians will not be there."

The world junior championship is scheduled to begin Dec. 26 in Alberta.

The ruling that started it

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled last Friday, Oct. 30, that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) must readmit Russian teams. The IIHF had barred them since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and had renewed the ban each year.

The court found the IIHF's safety and security concerns "were not supported by sufficient evidence." The ruling is reported to cover five championships in 2027, including the World Junior Championship in Canada, according to RT.

The IIHF expressed "disappointment" but said it would comply. There was no immediate reaction from the IIHF to the boycotts.

Six federations refuse to play

Finland moved first. Its federation announced Monday that it was rallying other nations to refuse to play Russia, and president Heikki Hietanen said Finland was contacting other countries to coordinate a joint stand.

On Tuesday, the federations of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia and the Czech Republic joined. Their position: they will refuse to play Russia for as long as the war continues, while still playing their other games.

Sweden's decision came on the day its board met, and it reversed the federation's position from last week, when it had initially indicated a boycott was off the table. Denmark and Norway said they would not face Russia at the men's world championship in Germany, set for May 14-30 next year.

Norway's federation cited player safety. "We believe playing against Russia under the current circumstances could expose our players and team staff to significant security risks," it said. That is the same category of concern the court found the IIHF had not backed with enough evidence.

Norway's general secretary, Petter Salsten, told the AP that at the world juniors, Norway could be removed by the IIHF to make room for Russia, because Norway was the last team to qualify.

Austria told The Associated Press it is weighing whether to join. Germany is unsure about hosting the men's championship. A top sponsor of next year's world championships threatened to walk away after Finland's announcement; Finnish tire maker Nokian Tyres said it will no longer sponsor the world championship if Russia takes part.

Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, thanked the European federations for "refusing to share the ice with Russia." He urged others to "deny visas to its players."

How Canada says it will do it

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Immigration Minister Lena Diab and Sport Secretary of State Adam van Koeverden said in a letter that Ottawa will use existing federal law to prevent national teams from Russia and Belarus from competing under their national symbols.

"This measure is not directed at the Russian and Belarusian people," they wrote. They said the aim is to stop the two governments from using international sporting events hosted in Canada as "platforms for state representation, political legitimacy and propaganda."

Hockey Canada thanked the government for what it called a "strong position." Its board meets this week. The IIHF and USA Hockey are also holding meetings. USA Hockey did not respond to a request for comment.

Carney said Canada respects the European decisions but had its own call to make.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who had earlier said the province would comply with the court ruling, wrote on X after Carney's announcement: "I agree with this decision completely."

Moscow's position

Russia rejects the premise of the exclusions. Oleg Stepanov, the Russian ambassador to Canada, told the state news agency TASS the decision was regrettable. "It is regrettable that Carney's office is bringing politics even into junior hockey, which is meant to unite, not divide," he said.

Russian officials have long argued that Western governments pressured sports federations into the bans and that the bans politicize sport. They also point to what they call unequal treatment of countries involved in other conflicts.

"The international sports family is in the process of returning to the fundamental principles governing the world of sports," Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month.

What is unsettled

The legal line is the sharpest issue. The court ordered the IIHF to readmit Russia. Several national federations and the Canadian government are now declining to take part in that readmission, on safety grounds in the federations' case and on political grounds in Ottawa's.

Canada's letter is narrower than Carney's remarks. It speaks of teams competing under national symbols, while Carney spoke of no athletes competing for their countries. The government has not said how a Russian or Belarusian player without national symbols would be treated.

The IIHF also faces a scheduling problem. The decision has raised logistical questions about accommodating Russian teams in tournaments whose schedules and preparations were already finalized.

The next concrete steps are the Hockey Canada board meeting this week, the IIHF and USA Hockey meetings, and decisions from Austria and Germany. The world juniors begin Dec. 26 in Alberta.