MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Restrictions imposed by a number of Western countries on Russian athletes in spite of recent decisions made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) constitute a gross violation of Russian athletes’ rights and democratic institutions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
During a meeting with Cabinet members, the Russian president noted that both the IOC in general and certain international sports federations, as well as CAS, were making decisions that aligned with the Olympic Charter and its principles and requested that Russian athletes be allowed to participate in international tournaments.
"But, unfortunately, not all countries are ready to observe the commitments they once pledged to and continue imposing illegal and politicized restrictions on Russian sports. This is an obvious and flagrant violation of the law, court decisions, and, consequently, of the very institutions of democracy. This is exactly how we should see it," Putin stressed.
TASS reported earlier in the week that the national hockey federations representing Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Czech Republic announced their unwillingness to play matches against the Russian national team at the World Championship following the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the admission of Russians to the competitions.
The Latvian national team will not play against the Russia team at the world championship after the Baltics nation's legislature voted against doing so.
IIHF’s ban against Russia, Belarus
In February 2022, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) suspended Russia and Belarus from participation in international competitions over the developments in Ukraine.
The Russian national ice hockey teams were also barred from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy and IIHF President Luc Tardif told TASS in 2025 that the decision was made by the IOC and the IIHF had no say in this.
On July 30, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced a decision to extend Russia’s suspension from international tournaments until 2027. The IIHF stated that: "Following the IIHF Disciplinary Board Decision, the IIHF Council re-analyzed the Russian Ice Hockey Federation’s request that it be permitted to enter a Russian Team in each of the following IIHF Championships: IIHF Men’s World Championship 2027; IIHF Women’s World Championship 2027; IIHF World Junior Championship 2027; IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship 202; and IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship 2027."
In early September, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF) filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne against the IIHF decision to extend the suspension of Russian national teams.