The key facts

  • Hasek called Czechia's refusal to play Russia an extreme measure and urged adoption of a workable law banning Russian athletes from competing abroad
  • On October 30, CAS fully granted the Russian Ice Hockey Federation's appeal and overturned the IIHF's suspension decision
  • Six countries refused to play Russia at the 2027 World Championship, and the IIHF changed the 2027 World Junior Championship schedule

Hasek's statement

Former Czech national team goaltender Dominik Hasek commented on the Czech federation's decision to refuse to play against Russia, calling such a step 'an absolutely extreme measure'. His words were reported by Sport24. In Hasek's view, the top priority now is to find a way to ban Russian teams and individual athletes from competing in other countries, for which it is necessary to draft and pass a workable law.

Context: the CAS ruling and the federations' reaction

The discussion was prompted by a ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport: On October 30 it fully granted the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and overturned the IIHF's decision to suspend the national team. The IIHF stated that it would urgently assess the steps and the time needed to implement the ruling and address its operational consequences. After the CAS verdict, six countries — Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Norway, Latvia and Denmark — refused to play against Russia at the 2027 World Championship in Germany. Earlier, Switzerland also announced its refusal at the junior championship.

Changes to the junior tournament calendar

The IIHF has already adjusted the schedule of the 2027 World Junior Championship: the Russian national team, which did not take part in previous tournaments, will take tenth place in the ranking of the upcoming event, replacing Norway in the bracket. Thus, the court's decision is already changing tournament calendars, while the refusal of a number of national federations to play against Russia remains a declared position, and Hasek's proposal for a legislative ban is merely an initiative, not an adopted decision.