IIHF upholds ban on Belarus for World Juniors, World Championship
The International Ice Hockey Federation announced on Saturday, in the wake of the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s recent ruling that Russian teams must be permitted to participate in IIHF events, that the Belarusian national team will still not be allowed to take part in the 2027 U20 World Junior Championships or the 2027 World Championship.
Belarus has been banned from IIHF competition in conjunction with the ban on Russian teams as a result of the former’s support for the latter’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The decision comes down from the IIHF counsel, citing the logistical and structural hurdles that would come along with reintegrating the Belarusian team into the tournaments.
“In reaching its decision, the Council took into account the existing sporting and organizational arrangements for both Championships, including competition structures, schedules, ticketing, and operational planning. Having considered these circumstances, the Council determined that Belarusian national teams will not participate in these two Championships in the 2027 season,” the Federation’s statement read.
The IIHF’s statement also touched on Russia, reiterating its disappointment with the ruling from the CAS allowing one of hockey’s great powers back into major international competition while simultaneously acknowledging that planning is underway for a solution that remains within the guidelines established by the ruling and ensures the tournaments go on smoothly.
“Separately, while the IIHF continues to disagree with the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) concerning Russian participation in IIHF Championships, we are taking the necessary steps required by the CAS ruling and reviewing what conditions would need to be met to safeguard our Championships, protect the organization’s financial stability and secure the long-term future of international ice hockey,” the IIHF said.
A major factor the IIHF must weigh is the threats from other major participating nations to pull out of tournaments that include the Russians, including Finland, Sweden, Norway, Czechia, Latvia and Denmark.
It also must be determined whether Russia’s inclusion would mean adding an additional team to the tournaments, thus necessitating a major reorganization of their structure, or if the Russians would replace the lowest-ranked team to qualify. For the men’s WJC, that would be Germany. For the World Championship next spring, the Russians would replace Ukraine.