May 29 (Reuters) – The International Ice Hockey Federation has reversed its decision to ban Russian national and club teams from its 2026-27 competitions and will now review the country’s eligibility on an event-by-event basis, the governing body announced on Friday.
The move comes a day after the IIHF reinstated Belarus into three 2026-27 tournaments: the U18 World Men’s Championship, Women’s World Championship Division IV and U18 World Women’s Championship Division IIIB.
• Russia has been banned from IIHF competitions, including the world championships, since 2022 following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine.
• The IIHF council re-analysed Russia’s reintegration in January but maintained the ban based on safety and security concerns.
• The Russian Ice Hockey Federation appealed the council’s decision to the IIHF disciplinary board, which annulled the council’s decision this week.
• Russia will not automatically be reintegrated and the country’s eligibility in future competitions will be reviewed on an event-by-event basis.
Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, who also heads the country’s National Olympic Committee, noted the IIHF disciplinary board’s decision to overturn the earlier ruling extending the ban.
Degtyarev, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the disciplinary board dismissed as insufficient arguments in favour of maintaining the ban based on the risks involved in lifting it.
“We are continuing our painstaking legal work,” he wrote.
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris, Christian Radnedge and Ron Popeski)
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