Sports Court Orders IIHF to Readmit Russian Hockey Teams for 2026-27 World Championships

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled today, Oct. 30, that Russian national hockey teams must be allowed back into International Ice Hockey Federation competition. It is their first return since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

A three-person CAS panel set aside an IIHF Council decision from earlier this year that extended the ban. The panel "found that the IIHF arguments citing safety, security and other concerns were not supported by sufficient evidence," the court said in a statement.

CAS also said that "only substantiated security concerns" could outweigh an athlete's right to compete regardless of nationality under the applicable IIHF regulations.

What the ruling covers

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation appealed the IIHF's decision. CAS heard the case in person at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The order puts Russia back into IIHF events for the 2026-27 season. That includes the men's and women's world championships and the World Junior Championship, which opens in Canada later this year. Germany hosts the men's world championship in May.

CAS did not rule on whether Russian teams must play as neutrals or can use their flag and anthem. Those questions were not part of the appeal, the court said.

Russia has won five IIHF world titles as an independent nation. It did not play Olympic hockey at the Milan Games earlier this year, and it was not part of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off.

The IIHF complies, under protest

The IIHF said it "disagrees with this aspect of the ruling" and maintains its decisions "were necessary to protect the safety and security of all participants and safeguard the integrity of its competitions." It also said it will act in accordance with the ruling.

"The outcome does not remove the concerns that informed its assessments," the federation said. It added that the ruling has "significant practical implications for competitions already at an advanced stage of preparation," including formats, schedules, travel, accommodation and security.

The IIHF would not say whose place Russia could take. Ukraine's men qualified for the top-flight world championship for the first time in 20 years after winning promotion at this year's Division 1 tournament in Poland.

Ukraine, Canada and Germany push back

The Hockey Federation of Ukraine said it respects the authority of CAS but expressed "deep outrage at this decision, taken amid a full-scale war." It said the threats behind the 2022 suspension "have not disappeared. On the contrary, they have only intensified." It added that participant safety and the integrity of sport "cannot be considered separately from the realities of the war that Russia continues to wage against Ukraine."

Canada's sport minister, Adam van Koeverden, said Canada "maintains, as it has since 2022, that Russia should not be represented in international sport competitions while Russia's illegal and unjustifiable full-scale invasion against Ukraine continues." He said Canada will keep restrictions on Russian athletes at events it hosts that receive Government of Canada funding, and will "explore further options."

Frank Lutz, chairman of the German ice hockey federation, said: "We reject the return of Russian national teams to international ice hockey tournaments." He said Russian participation carries "significant security-related, political, and economic consequences for us as hosts." Germany is evaluating the ruling with the IIHF.

Finland, Czechia and Austria have also restated opposition, and Finland called the decision incomprehensible. Fan calls for a boycott have circulated on social media, but no federation or national team has announced one.

Moscow's reading

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev told state television channel Vesti that "discrimination in hockey has been brought to an end" and "this place rightfully belongs to us." He said the ruling is final and not subject to appeal, and acknowledged that "challenging work lies ahead" in getting Russian players back into IIHF events.

That is Moscow's account. The panel's own finding was narrower: the IIHF did not back up its security case with enough evidence under its own rules. The panel did not rule on the merits of the war or on Russia's conduct.

A wider reopening

The hockey decision follows the International Olympic Committee's move on July 7 to lift its recommended restrictions on Russian athletes. The IOC left it to international federations to decide whether Russians or Russian teams compete at world championships. The Moscow Times describes the IOC step as a provisional lifting of the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, which was suspended in October 2023 after it recognized regional Olympic councils in occupied Ukrainian territories.

The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has appealed the IOC's decision to CAS. No ruling in that case has been announced.

What comes next

The IIHF Council is scheduled to discuss the ruling's impact in November. The federation has said it will urgently assess the steps and time needed to put the ruling into effect.

The open questions are practical and immediate. Canada has said it will keep restrictions tied to government funding at the World Juniors. Germany has not said what it will do before May. Neither the IIHF nor CAS has settled whether Russian players would appear under their national flag.