Finnish city says they won’t host 2028 World Juniors if Russia allowed back in

In the wake of Friday’s ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowing the Russian Ice Hockey Federation to International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournaments, an upcoming host city has threatened to abdicate its role if Russia is allowed to participate.

The city of Turku, Finland announced on Monday that it plans to give up hosting of the 2027-28 IIHF World Junior Championships if the Russian national team is allowed into the tournament.

Turku, along with the Finnish city of Tampere, are scheduled to host the tournament from December 26, 2027 through January 5, 2028. In a statement released by the city, Turku hopes that the IIHF and the Finnish national government can come to a solution that prevents Russia participating in the tournament.

Piia Elo, Turku’s mayor, revealed that this decision has not been in made in tandem with Tampere.

Russia, along with Belarus, had been banned from IIHF sanctioned tournaments since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022. The CAS’s recent ruling means that Russia is now eligible to compete in the 2026-27 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is set to take place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta beginning on December 26.

Following the CAS’s ruling, the IIHF released a statement expressing its disapproval of the ruling.

“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,” the statement read. “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.”

If Russia does ultimately participate in the 2027-28 World Junior Championship, it is currently unkown where the games initially scheduled to take place in Turku would be played.