MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Players from Russia’s national ice hockey teams have sent a letter to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) asking to clarify the reason behind their suspension from the world championships, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF) quoted a letter from the youth teams to the IIHF.

"We, the players of the Russia Men's National Junior Ice Hockey Team, do not understand what is happening to world ice hockey," the statement reads. "Our team missed three World Junior Championships. In 2022, we were not allowed to finish the tournament, which was canceled due to COVID-19. In 2023 and 2024, Russia did not play because of security concerns - that’s the reason the IIHF outlined for the ban."

"For the same reason the IIHF suspended the Israel men's national junior ice hockey team from its competition. This happened on January 11, 2024. Only six days later the IIHF decided to bring back the Israel team."

The IIHF’s press office announced in a January 11 statement that the global ice hockey federation had ruled to suspend the Israeli team indefinitely citing security issues.

"We would like to know what had happened during those six days? Had the conflict in the Middle East come to an end? Had the security concerns been resolved in a short time?"

"We would like to ask you: in what way we, the guys born in 2003-2005, have offended the world ice hockey? Why does the IIHF rigorously exclude us from world hockey, making its own events (including future men’s national teams’ events) less competitive?" the statement continued.

"If the problem is not only about safety, we would like to ask the IIHF to state it directly, aloud, to the whole world," the statement noted. "Why else would you lift one national team’s suspension in six days and isolate another one for years?"

The International Ice Hockey Federation Congress, hosted by the Finnish city of Tampere on May 27, 2022, voted to exclude the national teams of Russia and Belarus from the 2023 World Championship, and the two teams were likewise sidelined at the 2022 Ice Hockey World Championship, due to the developments in Ukraine.

IOC sanctions against Russia

On February 28, 2022, 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’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

In late March, 2023, the IOC recommended to permit individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international sports tournaments, but only under certain conditions. Specifically, athletes from the two countries should not be "actively supporting" Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and must compete under a neutral status. Russia and Belarus were also banned from participating in international team events.