Norway will close the borders for Russian athletes and coaches

Norwegian authorities intend to ban the entry of professional athletes and coaches from Russia and Belarus. The restrictions will remain in place as long as fighting continues in Ukraine. This is stated in the message of the government of the Kingdom.

The Norwegian Ministry of Justice will soon issue an order to the police and immigration authorities to apply the new rules. Sports delegations from the two countries will deploy when attempting to cross the border.

The Norwegian government explained the decision by the links of Russian professional sports with state structures. According to the authorities, the activities of Russian sports organizations cannot be separated from the events in Ukraine.

With regard to Belarus, the Norwegian side pointed to Minsk’s support for military operations.

The new restrictions come amid ongoing disagreements over Russian teams’ participation in international competitions.

In October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered the International Ice Hockey Federation to admit Russian teams to world tournaments. After that, the national hockey federations of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland and Austria announced their refusal to play against the Russian team at the 2027 World Cup.

Earlier, Canada banned Russian hockey players from participating in the youth world championship. On Thursday, entry restrictions for Russian athletes were also imposed by the Finnish authorities.