Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Hockey Canada said Tuesday that Russian athletes will not represent their country at next month’s World Juniors in Alberta, even after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the ban on Russian teams competing in international events.
CAS ruled Friday that Russian men’s and women’s teams could take part in upcoming world championships, reversing decisions by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to bar them. The World Juniors is the first tournament the ruling could affect, but Canada says it will not allow Russian athletes to compete there.
Carney said Russia and Belarus would remain excluded from sporting events in Canada while Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. Hockey Canada said it supported the government’s position and would meet with its board this week to consider what to do next. The government also said it intended to prevent Russian and Belarusian officials and athletes from competing under their national symbols at events held in Canada.
Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Norway, Latvia and Denmark have said they will boycott games against Russia for as long as the war continues. Finnish efforts to rally other countries have also prompted a response from STRAUSS, a major sponsor of next year’s world championships. The workwear company said Tuesday it would remove its branding from the tournament if Russia competes in the 2027 championship in Germany, and is considering ending its sponsorship altogether.
Russia was also left out of Olympic hockey earlier this year, the first Olympic tournament since 2014 to include NHL players, and did not participate in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, four days after that year’s Olympic competition ended.
CAS said its decision was based on insufficient evidence to support the IIHF’s security concerns. Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev told state television that the ruling brought an end to discrimination in hockey and that Russia had a rightful place in the sport.
The IIHF said it disagreed with the ruling. Ukraine’s ice hockey federation also condemned the decision, arguing that the security threats cited when Russian teams were suspended in 2022 had not gone away and had become more serious. It said participant safety and the integrity of international sport could not be separated from Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
