How the new IIHF president treats Russia

Who is the new president of the IIHF

German Franz Reindl has been elected the new president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), succeeding Frenchman Luke Tardiff, who has headed the IIHF since 2021 and decided not to run for re-election.

The favorite of the elections was considered the Czech Petr Brzyza. It took two rounds of voting to determine the winner, as no one scored more than 50%. In the first round, Brjiza led (41.03%), then Reindl - 36 (30.77%), and Aivaz Omorkanov (Kyrgyzia) - 33 (28.21%). In the second round, the 71-year-old German received 60 votes (51.28%), and Brjiza - 57 (48.72%).

Reindl was the first German to hold the post since Gunter Sabetzki (1975–1994).

Reindl is a legend of German hockey. As part of the German national team, he won the bronze of the 1976 Olympics, was a participant in the 1984 Canadian Cup. In total, he spent 181 games for the national team, scored 38 goals.

Under his leadership, at the beginning of the zeros, the system of training young players was modernized, thanks to which many high-quality players, including NHL stars, appeared in the country.

Since 2014 he has headed the German Hockey Federation. During his presidency, the team sensationally took silver from the World Cup-2023 and the 2018 Olympics, the third medal in the team’s history. At zero it seemed unthinkable, as the national team was balancing between the elite and the first division.

In 2016, he became the main European team at the World Cup, where the team took second place. He has been a member of the IIHF Board since 2016.

How the new IIHF president Franz Reindl treats Russia

In 2022, she suspended Russian teams from her tournaments and still refuses to return even juniors, as recommended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Reindl repeatedly spoke positively about Russia and Russian hockey legends. The opinion did not change after February 2022, when mass sanctions were imposed on Russian sports. He has repeatedly expressed admiration for Ovechkin, even after his goal in a football match.

In 2021, Reindl was the favorite in the presidential election. He was considered a pro-Russian candidate because of his close relationship with René Fasel.

Reindl himself before the elections spoke about “great sympathy for Russia” its “experienced hockey leaders, such as Vladislav Tretiak, Roman Rotenberg”.

Reindl's victory was expected to bring victory to the influence of Fasel's IIHF members, who would secure him votes from Russia and several other countries. Against him were critics of Fasel, representing Western countries

Despite the pre-election scenarios, Reindl sensationally lost to the little-known Luke Tardiff. Moreover, in the vote he did not take second, third place.

The results were influenced by the outbreak of corruption scandal with Reindl in the German hockey Union. Before the election, a series of Spiegel articles appeared, which also mentioned the ties of “felt unpunished” Reindl with Fazal and Russia. The investigations lasted 4 years, and in 2025 the charges were dropped.

Has the new IIHF president’s attitude toward Russia changed after February 2022

Reindl in 2022 supported the suspension of Russian teams from international tournaments.

Chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation, IIHF Vice-Presidential Candidate Heikki Hietanen said in an interview with Yle that before the elections, Reindl had the greatest support “in the east”. At the same time, he noted that none of the leading candidates spoke openly in favor of the return of Russia.

Hietanen stressed that Russia took an active part in the elections and tried to promote “profitable” candidates.

According to Augsburger Allgemeine, by the beginning of the election campaign, Reindl had excellent relations with the leaders of the FHR and had a positive attitude towards Russia. He understood that without Russia’s support it would be difficult to win elections.

This is partly confirmed by the Vice-President of the FHR Roman Rotenberg. “I know Franz Reindl and other candidates,” Fasel said. They love hockey very much and will definitely do everything possible to bring Russia back. Because we see how our absence affects the development of national teams in the United States, Canada and international hockey in general.

In addition, the German Hockey Union was not part of the anti-Russian coalition, which threatened to boycott tournaments if Russia was admitted.

Who Became IIHF President

Louis Magnus (1908-1912, 1914)

Henry van den Bulke (1912-1914, 1914-1920)

Peter Patton (1914)

Max Sillig (1920-1922)

Paul Luac (1922-1947)

Fritz Kratz (1947-1948, 1951-1954)

William George Hardy (1948-1951)

Walter A. Brown (1954-1957)

John Francis Ahern (1957-1960, 1963-1966, 1969-1975)

Robert Lebel (1960-1963)

William Thayer Tatt (1966-1969)

Günther Sabetzky (1975-1994)

René Fazel (1994-2021)

Luke Tardiff (2021-2026).

. Franz Reindl (2026–present)