Danish and Swedish hockey federations refuse to play Russia
Latvia and the Czech Republic’s federations also joined the refusal. Canada’s prime minister says Russian and Belarusian athletes will not compete for their countries in Canada while Russia and Belarus continue to support the war in Ukraine.
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The ice hockey federations of Denmark, Sweden, Latvia and the Czech Republic announced on 3 November that they had joined a refusal to play Russian teams, after a sports court lifted the ban on those teams.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the same day that Russian and Belarusian athletes would not compete for their countries in Canada while Russia and Belarus continued to support the war in Ukraine.
Federations respond to the ruling
The Court of Arbitration for Sport lifted the ban on 30 October, finding that safety and security concerns were not supported by sufficient evidence. The International Ice Hockey Federation had imposed the ban after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and extended it annually.
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association called on other nations to oppose the ruling on 2 November. Norway’s federation was the first to announce on 3 November that it intended to play tournament games against every team except Russia, The Guardian said.
The world junior ice hockey tournament is scheduled to begin in Alberta on 26 December.
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