Russia is making its return.
According to Frank Seravalli, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled today that the IIHF must allow Russia to participate in its international tournaments. This would end a ban that has been in effect since the nation invaded Ukraine, which began in 2022.
The CAS cited that they found the evidence against Russia regarding this ruling was “insufficient to establish the legal requirements for non-participation.”
“The panel unanimously concluded that, in the light of the applicable IIHF regulations, only substantiated security concerns could outweigh athletes of a particular nationality to participate in competitions. Consequently, the appeal was upheld.”
Russia’s return to play impacts the current preparation that is underway with international competition, starting with the 2027 World Junior Championships in Edmonton, which take place in late December. The other events include the IIHF Men’s World Championship 2027, IIHF Women’s World Championship 2027 (November 2027), IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship 2027, and IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship 2027.
It remains undecided how, but Russia’s implementation itself back into these events would not only cause severe backlash but also an imbalance in group play, as teams for these future events have already solidified their placement into the respective tournaments.
The largest one to look over is Ukraine at the upcoming Men’s Worlds, which hasn’t clinched a spot in said tournament in 20 years and ranks the lowest of the teams that qualified.
This overturn is a major decision that will see a big player in the hockey world return as a sports superpower. Four nations, including the Finnish, German, Czechian and Austrian ice hockey federations, have all released statements in disagreement with this decision to allow Russia back into the fold.
The IIHF also expressed its disappointment in the decision in a press release:
“The IIHF disagrees with this aspect of the ruling and maintains that its decisions were necessary to protect the safety and security of all participants and safeguard the integrity of its competitions. While the IIHF respects the authority of CAS and will act in accordance with its ruling, the outcome does not remove the concerns that informed its assessments.”
This ruling overturns the decisions made by the IIHF to keep Russia out of 2026-27 events earlier this summer. Russia’s ice hockey federation issued a statement against the ban in February, which read in part: “the argument regarding the impossibility of ensuring the safety of participants in international tournaments involving Russian national teams is no longer relevant, lacks any basis, and is merely a formal pretext for denying our country’s participation.”
According to Darren Dreger, who spoke to the NHL Players Association recently, a decision regarding the 8th team in the league’s upcoming 2028 World Cup of Hockey would be made sooner rather than later. Russia, now among the contending teams to get back into the mix, could put the whole event in jeopardy if placed into the pool of competing nations, given the overall response to this ruling.
The host teams of Czechia and Canada are expected to be joined by other Four Nations Face-Off participants in Finland, Sweden, and the United States. Other contending countries in play include Germany and Slovakia, as well as Switzerland, which has fared well in Men’s Worlds competition as of late.
This article will be updated.