IIHF explains why Russian Hockey Federation still pays annual membership fee
"The Russian Ice Hockey Federation has not been suspended as a member national association of the IIHF but its teams are currently not allowed to participate in IIHF competitions," the spokesman said
MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. The Russian Hockey Federation (RHF) maintains its membership with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) despite the current ban on its national teams and has to pay a required annual membership fee, a spokesman for the IIHF press office told TASS on Wednesday.
"The Russian Ice Hockey Federation has not been suspended as a member national association of the IIHF but its teams are currently not allowed to participate in IIHF competitions," the spokesman said.
"While the IIHF does not comment on individual bank transactions, we can inform you that each IIHF member national association has to pay a subscription fee of CHF 1,000 [over $1,000] per year as by IIHF Statute 12.2.1 and must be in good standing to exercise membership rights," he added.
IIHF’s sanctions against Russia, Belarus
The IIHF Congress, hosted by Finland’s Tampere on May 27, voted that the national teams of Russia and Belarus would be sidelined at the 2023 World Championship, just like at the recent 2022 Ice Hockey World Championship, due to the ongoing developments in Ukraine.
However, at its meeting in late September, the IIHF Congress announced that the national ice hockey teams from Russia and Belarus would remain in the top division of the world championships after sanctions against their countries are lifted. According to IIHF President Luc Tardif it meant that there was no aggression at all toward Russia.
In late April, the IIHF announced a decision to cancel its previously scheduled 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship in St.Petersburg, Russia. The global organization also nixed the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, slated to be hosted by the Russian cities of Novosibirsk and Omsk.
On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.