The IIHF hoped that Russia itself will refuse to participate in the world Cup

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) counts on the independent decision of the Russian side to refuse to perform at the world championships.

This statement, as the Finnish edition Iltalehti, was made by the head of the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation and the representative of the governing board of the IIHF Anders Larsson.

The functionary stressed that in the current conditions, no scenarios can be ruled out, and added that sports authorities need to look for various options for further actions. At the same time, he openly called Russia’s voluntary refusal to visit the most preferable outcome.

Speaking about possible reasons that could prompt the Russian side to take such a step, the Swedish official found it difficult to give a specific answer, redirecting this question to Russia itself.

This discussion unfolded after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on October 30 issued a verdict ordering IIHF to return the Russian teams to the international arena and organize their participation in tournaments under the auspices of the federation in the game cycle 2026/27. The next major starts should be the youth championship of the planet in Canada at the end of the year, as well as the adult world championship, which is scheduled for May 2027 in Germany.

At the moment, the IIHF has not yet developed a final mechanism for implementing the CAS prescription. Representatives of the organization reported on the conduct of active consultations with all parties involved, including the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, in order to develop a compromise solution.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the hockey associations of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Norway have already publicly boycotted any possible matches with the Russians. In parallel, the head of the Canadian government Mark Carney made a categorical statement, promising a guaranteed refusal to issue entry visas to Russian hockey players to participate in the youth tournament.

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