The International Hockey Federation IIHF has decided to exclude Russia and Belarus from competitions under the IIHF for the time being, the association informs on its website.
The IIHF policy applies to Russian and Belarusian national hockey and club teams. The decision to detain is due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
– The IIHF has a responsibility to take care of all our members and participants and therefore we must do everything we can to ensure that we are able to organize our events in a safe environment, IIHF President Luc Tardif said in a press release and described the events in Ukraine as “shocking”.
With the decision, the teams will not play in the men’s World Championships in Finland next spring. Russia had to play in Group A of the Games in Helsinki, and matches in Belarus were planned for Group B in Tampere.
The IIHF did not say which countries will take the place of the World Cup in the spring. The association also did not outline whether the World Championships could be played in the Russian arena in the spring.
In addition to the Men’s World Cup, the Russian and Belarusian national teams will also not be seen at the Men’s Under-20 World Cup next August. The Russian women’s national team, for its part, will be sidelined from the Women’s World Cup scheduled for August-September, and the countries will not be able to participate in other World Youth Championships either.
Russia will also lose its host of the World Championships for men under the age of 20 next year. The Games were to be played in Omsk and Novosibirsk.
The IIHF did not make a decision on the men’s World Cup scheduled for next year in St. Petersburg.