The International Ice Hockey Federation continued its easing of sanctions on Russian and Belarusian national and club teams. The two countries have seen their teams banned from IIHF competitions for the last four years following Russia’s illegal military invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In an announcement on Friday, the governing body said it has “re-analyzed the situation” and will determine the status of Russian teams’ participation on an event-by-event basis for the 2026-27 season. The news comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally recommended earlier this month that any restrictions on Belarusian athletes’ participation, including teams, be lifted.
Friday’s IIHF statement reads as follows:
On January 21, 2026, the IIHF Council re-analyzed the situation to reintegrate the Russian National and Club Teams to its championships for the 2026-2027 season. It was determined that Russia would not be reintegrated into IIHF competition for the 2026–2027 season based on safety and security concerns.
That decision was subsequently appealed by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation to the IIHF Disciplinary Board.
On May 25, 2026, the IIHF Disciplinary Board issued its decision and annulled the Council’s previous decision from January 2026. However, the Disciplinary Board explicitly confirmed that this does not mean that Russia has automatically been reintegrated.
The Disciplinary Board determined that the previous decision could not be maintained in its current form, and as such has sent the matter back to the IIHF Council to re-analyze based on safety, security, operational, and sporting plans.
At this time the Council will gather all relevant information and then make a decision on Russia’s eligibility in future IIHF competitions on an event-by-event basis.
The new decision comes just a few months after the IIHF convened and decided it was not yet ready to take the full leap toward reintegration for both countries. In response to that previous statement, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation issued its own statement, expressing disappointment at not being involved in the discussions and its plans to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Earlier this week, the IIHF announced it would reintegrate Belarus at the under-18 men’s and women’s events and the women’s Division IV world championship beginning this year. The first steps for Russian teams returning to tournaments will likely also come at the youth level.
The next major IIHF-governed tournament is the 2027 Under-20 World Junior Championship, which will be held next winter in Edmonton and Red Deer, Canada. After that, at the senior level, the 2027 World Championship will be hosted by Düsseldorf and Mannheim, Germany, from May 14 to May 30, 2027.
