The key facts

  • On October 30, CAS fully upheld the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and overturned Russia's suspension imposed by the IIHF
  • The IIHF is urgently assessing the steps and timing needed to implement the CAS ruling
  • The President of the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine, Serhiy Mazur, said he does not understand how such a decision could have been made

Arbitration lifts the suspension

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on October 30 fully upheld the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and overturned the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) decision to suspend the Russian national team. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru. The IIHF itself stated that it would urgently assess the steps and the time needed to implement the ruling and address its operational consequences.

Ukraine's reaction

The President of the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine, Serhiy Mazur, spoke out against Russia's return to international competitions. “For now, we have no clear understanding of how such a decision could have been made at all. It is important to see how the International Ice Hockey Federation will behave. They recently elected a new president. We will see what their reaction and next steps will be,” Mazur said, as quoted by Tribuna.

Context

The CAS ruling continues a gradual lifting of restrictions: on July 7, the International Olympic Committee temporarily lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and recommended that all federations remove restrictions on Russian athletes, declaring the previous recommendations obsolete. Earlier, in Sweden, there were calls to boycott the World Championship in ice hockey if the Russian team took part. So far, the IIHF has not announced specific timelines or a format for the return of Russian teams — this question remains open.