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IIHF to discuss Russia’s participation in 2027 Hockey World Championship next February

The IIHF Council voted during its session on February 4 to exclude Russia and Belarus from the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland

GENEVA, June 3. /TASS/. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) will discuss the participation of Russia and Belarus in the 2027 IIHF World Championship in Germany next February, IIHF President Luc Tardif said on Tuesday.

The IIHF Council voted during its session on February 4 to exclude Russia and Belarus from the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. In February 2022, the IIHF suspended Russia and Belarus from participation in international competitions. The national teams have already missed out on four world championships.

"The IIHF World Championship is our event, we met this past February to discuss Switzerland in 2026. We agreed at that time that Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to play. We will meet next February to discuss this again for 2027," the federation’s press office quoted Tardif as saying in a statement posted on its official website.

The Russian national ice hockey teams were also barred from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy and Tardif told TASS on Monday that the decision was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the IIHF had no say in this.

IOC sanctions against Russia, Belarus

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.