The key facts

  • On October 30, CAS fully upheld the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and overturned the IIHF's suspension decision
  • The DEB will raise the question of the 2027 World Championship in discussions with the German government
  • Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia and Finland refused to play matches against Russia

Germany will take the question of the 2027 World Championship to the government level

The German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) stated that in the near future the country's government will discuss with the organization the possible consequences of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) verdict, including for the 2027 World Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Germany. This was reported by Bild citing a statement from the federation.

What CAS decided and how the IIHF reacted

On October 30, the Court of Arbitration for Sport fully upheld the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and overturned the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) decision to suspend Russian teams from international tournaments. The IIHF stated that it would urgently assess the steps and time needed to implement the decision and eliminate its operational consequences, while also expressing dissatisfaction with the verdict.

Refusals by European federations and the IOC's position

As early as November 1, as noted by Gazeta.Ru, it was reported that Germany might refuse to host the 2027 World Championship due to Russia's readmission. Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia and Finland also refused to play matches against the Russian national team. Context for comparison: on July 7, the International Olympic Committee temporarily lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and recommended that federations remove restrictions on Russian athletes, deeming the previous recommendations obsolete. In addition, goaltender Dominik Hašek agreed with CAS's arguments regarding the admission of Russian national ice hockey teams — this was reported by the Gazeta portal (gazeta.press).

What remains unclear

So far, neither the IIHF nor the federations that refused to play against Russia have announced specific decisions: the IIHF has only promised to assess the procedure for implementing the verdict, while the DEB has promised to discuss the consequences with the government. It remains unknown whether the 2027 World Championship will still be held in Germany and how the tournament's participants will be determined.