FHR appeals to the IIHF disciplinary committee over threats to boycott matches against Russians

Appeal to the disciplinary committee

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev on the air of the program 'Meanwhile with Natalia Metlina' said that the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia (FHR) has filed a complaint with the disciplinary committee of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) over statements about boycotting matches against the Russian national team. According to him, the FHR 'immediately put all its grievances down on paper.' Degtyarev separately criticized the Swedish side's position: 'the Swedish side stated that there would be a psychological blow to Swedish hockey players if they faced the Russians — this is absurd.'

Context: the CAS ruling and the federations' refusals

On October 30, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) fully granted the FHR's appeal and overturned the IIHF's decision to suspend Russia. The IIHF stated that it would urgently assess the steps and the time needed to implement the ruling and address its operational consequences, but expressed dissatisfaction with the CAS verdict.

Consequences for the tournament

Following the CAS ruling, six national federations — Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Norway, Latvia and Denmark — refused to play matches against the Russian national team at the 2027 World Championship in Germany. Meanwhile, the IIHF changed the schedule of the 2027 World Junior Championship: the Russian team, which did not take part in previous tournaments, will take tenth place in the ranking of the upcoming tournament, replacing Norway in the schedule. Earlier, Norway stated that due to the IIHF's mistakes, hockey players from all countries would suffer.