CAS explained its decision to admit Russian hockey players: IIHF failed to prove grounds for exclusion

The Court of Arbitration for Sport responded to criticism of its October 30 decision that returned Russian national teams to tournaments of the 2026/27 season: in the panel's view, the IIHF did not present sufficient evidence of legal grounds for the restrictions. Meanwhile, seven European national teams announced they would refuse to play against Russia at the 2027 World Championship.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 5 November 2026 at 21:122 min read

The key facts

CAS confirmed: the IIHF failed to prove legal grounds for excluding Russian national teams
The October 30 decision returned the Russians to tournaments of the 2026/27 season
Seven European teams refused to play against Russia at the 2027 World Championship but will not boycott the tournament

The court upheld the logic of the October 30 decision

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has once again responded to criticism of its decision to return Russian hockey national teams to international tournaments, reports Life.ru. According to the court, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) failed to provide sufficient evidence justifying the exclusion of Russian teams. «The panel concluded that the IIHF did not present sufficient evidence to substantiate the legal grounds preventing the participation of Russian teams,» the CAS press service said in a statement.

What the arbitration examined

The arbitration panel examined whether the IIHF decisions adopted in July 2026 complied with the federation's own statutes and regulations, and concluded that there were no legal grounds for maintaining the restrictions. The court emphasized that, as an independent body of sports arbitration, it considers cases solely on the basis of the legal substance of the appeal, the arguments and the evidence of the parties. The CAS also took into account the mixed reaction of hockey federations to the October 30 decision, which lifted the restrictions on the participation of Russian national teams in tournaments of the 2026/27 season.

Reaction of the federations: disagreement and refusals to play

The IIHF itself expressed disagreement with the decision but acknowledged the need to comply with it. Later, seven European national teams — Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Norway, Latvia, Denmark and Austria — announced their refusal to play against Russia at the 2027 World Championship, while, according to Life.ru, they do not intend to boycott the tournament itself. Thus, the court's decision formally returned the Russians to the tournaments, but the practical picture remains uncertain: the question of how matches involving the Russian national team at the 2027 World Championship will proceed remained open at the time of publication.