There could soon be an explosive change in international ice hockey! Russia’s exclusion from IIHF competitions for the 2026/27 season has been lifted by the world association’s disciplinary committee – this is reported by the “Kronen Zeitung”. This revives the discussion about a possible return of the Russian national teams to the big stage.
IIHF Council decision overturned
It was only in January that the IIHF Council decided to continue excluding Russian teams from international competitions due to security concerns. However, the Russian association lodged an appeal against this decision – and was now right.
The disciplinary panel overturned the exclusion and referred the matter back to the IIHF Council. He now has to reassess the situation.
No automatic return yet
However, Russia’s comeback is not yet certain. The world association expressly emphasized that lifting the exclusion does not mean automatic readmission.
Rather, each event should be assessed individually in the future. The IIHF wants to take security, organizational, sporting and political aspects into account.
Hot topic in world ice hockey
The possible return of Russia is likely to cause intense discussions in the coming months. Since the start of the Ukraine war, Russian national teams have been banned from IIHF competitions.
In terms of sport, a return would massively change the balance of power at world championships and Olympic tournaments. Russia is traditionally one of the strongest ice hockey nations in the world and still has numerous NHL and KHL stars.
A decision will probably only be made in the next few months
It is currently unclear when a final decision will be made. The IIHF Council first wants to gather more information before deciding on the possible approval of Russian teams.
Pic: F. Gardener
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