Putin urged “consistently and calmly” to seek the admission of hockey players
Tretiak at the meeting on sports told about the refusal of Canada to allow the team to the youth world Cup and threats of boycott from a number of teams. Putin said that it is necessary to continue to consistently seek legal admission
Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports that in the issue of admission of Russian hockey teams to international tournaments, it is necessary to continue to “go the legal way”, seeking compliance with the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The head of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR) Vladislav Tretiak spoke about the statement of the Canadian authorities about the ban on the entry of the Russian team to the World Youth Championship and threats of boycott from such teams as the Czech Republic, Latvia, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and Finland. Tretiak noted that the FHR complained about them to the ethics committee of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
Putin noted that sports federations take this position under pressure from governments.
“It suggests that those who fight for uniform rules, for the maintenance of democratic institutions, are themselves neglecting all these rules and these institutions.” Unfortunately, these are those with whom we have to deal in the international arena, Putin said.
According to him, the Russian side should continue to go the legal way, confirm the CAS decision.
“They just once again show that there are no universal rules, and there are only one rules that correspond to their interests,” the president added, pointing out that “we must consistently calmly pursue our interests, which we will do in all directions.”.
The Youth World Hockey Championships will be held in the Canadian cities of Edmonton and Red Deer in December 2026 – January 2027.
The Russians have been suspended from IIHF tournaments since February 2022, after the start of the military operation in Ukraine. In October, CAS ordered IIHF to ensure the participation of Russian teams in the 2026/27 season.
