FHB commented on the decision of IIHF not to allow the national teams of Belarus to the tournaments of 2027

The Council of the International Ice Hockey Federation on November 7 once again announced that the national teams of Belarus will not take part in the youth world championship and the world championship in 2027. The Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation commented on this decision, FHB reported.

The decision came a few days after the IIHF Disciplinary Panel, having satisfied the appeal of the FHB, annulled the Council’s decisions of July 27, 2026 and admitted that the references to security concerns were not supported by sufficient evidence. This is the second time in 2026 that the Disciplinary Panel has overturned the IIHF Council’s decision to limit the participation of national teams.

FGB does not agree with the new decision of the Council. Before the World Cup in Germany, which starts in May 2027, there is enough time to work out all the organizational issues. The Federation intends to protect the rights of Belarusian hockey and in the near future will determine specific legal steps, including the possibility of applying to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on the decisions of IIHF bodies.

Chairman of the FHB Alexander Bogdanovich drew attention to the inconsistency of the approaches of the IIHF:

- The decision, in fact, reproduces the result of the canceled: the national teams of Belarus again remain outside the tournaments, while changing only the rationale. It raises questions and inconsistency of approaches. The non-admission of the Belarusian teams of the IIHF explains the need to preserve the structure and organizational planning of the tournaments, but in relation to Russia, it states the need to implement the CAS decision, which will also require a change in the composition of participants. Why the same approach is not applied to Belarus remains unanswered.