They were still there at the last two Olympic Winter Games: Russia’s national ice hockey team, the “Sbornaja”, won gold four years ago in Pyeongchang under the name “Russian Olympic Committee (ROC)” and silver in Beijing this February, but it was completely clear who the players actually represented. Because of the sanctions due to the Russian state doping scandal, athletes from Russia were forbidden from wearing the Russian flag at the time, and their anthem was not allowed to be played either. This time, the sanctions that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are deeper.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has banned Russia and Belarus from all competitions. “We were incredibly shocked by the images that came out of Ukraine,” IIHF President Luc Tardif said in a statement announcing the move in February. “I have been in close contact with the Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation and we hope for all Ukrainians that this conflict can be resolved peacefully and without further violence,” added Tardif.
Only sensible decision
The IIHF’s step was the “only sensible decision,” says Szymon Szemberg, Managing Director of the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs (ECH). “Having Russia at the World Cup – with its war of aggression, genocide and war crimes, as well as the close ties between the Russian ice hockey association KHL and Putin and the Kremlin – would have been unthinkable,” Szemberg told DW.
Ice hockey fans: Vladimir Putin (right) with the Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko (left)
Ice hockey historian Andrew Podnieks, who has written more than 100 books on the subject, agrees: “Politics and sport do NOT go hand in hand,” Podnieks told DW. “The IIHF cannot help Ukraine win the war, so they are doing the only thing they can to support Ukraine and show their disgust at the invasion. The morale of the sport is much more important than the participation of the one or the other team at an event.”
No World Cup in Putin’s hometown
Compared to the IIHF’s actions at last year’s World Championship, the move came at lightning speed. At the time, it took the association weeks to withdraw the tournament from Belarus after President Alexander Lukashenko bloodily crushed demonstrations against his controversial re-election in August 2020.
In addition to the World Cup ban, the IIHF has withdrawn Russia from hosting the 2023 Men’s World Championship, which should have been held in Vladimir Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg. The Junior World Championships will also not take place in Russia in 2023 as originally planned.
Effects on the KHL
There were also measures that received less attention: Only a few hours after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Finnish club Jokerit Helsinki, which had played in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) since 2014, announced its withdrawal from the playoffs for the Gagarin Cup and later withdrew from the KHL altogether.
Finland’s top team Jokerit Helsinki no longer plays in the Russian professional league KHL
Dinamo Riga, a member of the KHL since 2008, followed suit a few days later. “In such a military and humanitarian crisis, we see no possibility of cooperation with the Continental Ice Hockey League,” the Latvian club said in a statement.
Meanwhile, both the Swedish and Finnish Ice Hockey Federations have announced that all of their pros playing in the KHL next season will be banned from the national teams.
“Like a World Cup without Germany or Brazil”
For the first time in decades, hockey fans will see a World Championship without one of the strongest teams. “It has significant sporting implications, that’s obvious, because Russia is one of the leading hockey nations,” says Szemberg. “A long-standing medal contender will not compete. It’s like a World Cup without Germany or Brazil.”
Duel of the heavyweights: Russia and Canada often faced each other in the World Cup final
Since the Soviet Union first took part in (and won) the World Cup in 1954, the Soviet and later Russian teams have won a total of 27 gold medals – the same number as the Canadians, who could now become sole record world champions in Latvia.
Hockey world will survive
With no end to the war in Ukraine in sight, fans may have to get used to Russia’s absence from the Ice Hockey World Championships for years to come.
Szymon Szemberg, who was formerly IIHF communications director, is not worried that the world championships will suffer as a result: “Canada did not participate in the Ice Hockey World Championships from 1970 to 1976 – and the ice hockey world survived.”
This text has been adapted from English.