The World Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has suspended teams from Russia and Belarus at club and national team level until further notice because of the Ukraine war.
The IIHF announced this after a council meeting on Monday evening. In addition, Russia was withdrawn from hosting the 2023 Junior World Championships in Novosibirsk and Omsk. The 2023 World Cup in St. Petersburg is not affected for the time being.
“The IIHF is not a political entity and cannot influence decisions about the war in Ukraine,” said IIHF President Luc Tardif. “However, we have a duty of care to all our members and participants and therefore must do everything possible to ensure that we can conduct our events in a safe environment for all teams participating in the IIHF World Championship program.”
The German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) had previously supported the Baltic associations’ call for Russia to be suspended from the IIHF world association. “We have joined the initiative of the Baltic States,” DEB President Franz Reindl told SID: “As long as this incredible war doesn’t stop, sport can’t just go on either.”
After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Latvia’s federation, in consultation with its neighbors, appealed to the IIHF to suspend the Russian and Belarusian ice hockey federations and their officials. At the same time, Latvia canceled the planned international matches against Russia and Belarus before the World Cup in May.