The International Ice Hockey Federation was spinning the Russian thing.
The situation of the Russian ice hockey teams, which attacked Ukraine in 2022 and are still continuing their brutal war, came up during the traditional closing press of the World Cup on Sunday in Zurich.
Outgoing President of the International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF Luc Tardif took the stage.
The editor of the Swiss magazine La Liberté asked Tardif whether it would be good for the IIHF from a sporting point of view to have Russia and its supporter Belarus back in the men’s World Cup.
– It is important that they come back to the family, but not too soon, because then we will have other problems, Tardif said.
According to Tardif, the IIHF conducts a risk assessment every year to protect its tournament.
– No one can say that the World Cup isn’t in a good state as it is now. We set records at the World Championships in Sweden in 2025 and the Czech Championships in 2024. The product is currently in good condition. If the countries come back too soon, there will be other problems. You have to wait for the right time. It will come.
Luc Tardif (second from the left) answered questions about Russia and Belarus. Pasi Liesimaa
Tardif also poked fun at the US president in passing Donald Trump.
– There are people who think they can end the war in 24 hours. It’s more complicated. We have to stay calm and make sure that when the whole family is together again, that moment is right for it.
The American think tank CSIS, which followed and analyzed the war of aggression, estimated in March that the combined losses of Russia and Ukraine will rise to two million people by spring.
Iltalehti asked Tardif what kind of opportunities he sees for playing hockey in Ukraine and whether the IIHF can help the country somehow.
– Everyone understands that it is difficult for the Ukrainian ice hockey association now. “Shortly after the war started – we call it a war, sometimes it’s a special operation or something like that – we started helping them play in the World Cup because the Ukrainian federation wanted to continue in the Games,” Tardif said.
Tardif will step down as chairman at the end of the year. Pasi Liesimaa
The Ukrainian men’s national team played in the second level World Cup this season. The tournament was organized at the beginning of May in Poland, and Ukraine did so well that next year the country will play with the Lions and other hockey giants in the first-level tournament.
According to the chairman, helping the national teams of Ukraine is a huge job. According to Tardif, the IIHF and the competition organizers have helped the Ukrainian national teams to prepare for various competitions.
– The organizers contribute to the travel costs in order to get them to the games in the best possible condition.
– Ukrainians want to stay in tournaments and remain competitive. I think the IIHF’s job is to help them compete in the best possible shape.
The situation of Russia and Belarus in international ice hockey is multi-threaded. The countries have so far been closed to competitions. The IIHF has justified the issue from a safety perspective. Belarus has helped Russia in the war.
It was recently decided that the Belarusian women’s national team, the U18 girls’ national team and the U18 boys’ national team will return to tournaments organized by the IIHF next season.
The return of Belarus was triggered by the decision of the International Olympic Committee, according to which restrictions are no longer recommended for Belarusians.
As a result of the Olympic Committee’s decision, Belarus filed a claim with the International Ice Hockey Federation’s IIHF Disciplinary Committee and demanded that its teams be included in international ice hockey tournaments next season.
The disciplinary committee of the International Ice Hockey Federation, on the other hand, threw the ball to the organizers of the tournaments.
– The lower divisions are different from a three-week tournament of 16 teams, Tardif said.
A Swiss reporter asked Tardif whether the return of Russia and Belarus to the men’s tournament would be possible already next year.
– We have a congress at the end of September, and we will work until then. Now we are organizing the structure of the games so that a return would be possible.
