Report: Russia, Belarus remain banned from international play after IIHF Council meeting
Russia and Belarus will continue to be banned from international hockey tournaments following Wednesday’s International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Council meeting, according to Chris Johnston.
There is no change to sanctions against Russia and Belarus coming out of today's IIHF Council meeting, per sources. They remain ineligible to participate in international hockey competitions because of safety concerns.
The nations have been banned from any tournaments organized by the IIHF, such as the World Championship or World Junior Championship, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In May of 2025, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that Russia and Belarus will not be permitted to participate in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, a decision that stands in concert with the IIHF’s ban.
The ban remains in place principally due to safety concerns, echoing the IIHF’s stated reasoning from their 2025 meeting.
“Following its latest meeting this morning, the IIHF Council believes it is not yet safe to reintegrate the Russian and Belarusian National and Club Teams to its championships for the 2025-2026 season,” read a statement from the IIHF released on February 4th, 2025. “As the current security conditions do not allow the necessary requirements for the organization of tournaments guaranteeing the safety of all, the IIHF must maintain the current status quo until further notice.”
The next IIHF Council meeting will take place in May ahead of the next IIHF Annual Congress in Zurich, Switzerland. The statuses of Russia and Belarus will likely be revisited at that point.
The absence of Russia from international hockey is a sizable one. Russia, or formerly the Soviet Union, has nine Olympic gold medals in men’s hockey, tied with Canada for the most all-time. Their 14 total medals is second all-time, two behind Canada. They also have 27 gold medals and 47 total medals from the IIHF World Championship, second to Canada on both accounts.
Belarus, while still a very respectable hockey nation, has yet to medal in the Olympics or World Championship.
The men’s hockey tournament at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics is scheduled to begin on February 11th, while the women’s tournament is scheduled to begin on February 5th.