Following its meeting today, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Council believes that it is not yet safe to reinstate the Russian and Belarusian national and club teams in its championships for the 2025-2026 season.
As the current security conditions do not allow to meet the necessary requirements for the organisation of tournaments guaranteeing the safety of all, the IIHF must maintain the status quo until further notice.
The IIHF Council will continue to monitor the situation, with the latest date to determine whether it is safe to reinstate Russia and Belarus for the 2026/2027 championship season to be set in May 2026 at the IIHF Council meeting prior to the IIHF Annual Congress.
IOC to decide on Russian hockey team's participation in the Olympics
The decision on the Russian national team's participation in the Olympic hockey tournament will be made on the basis of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) recommendations, said Pavel Bure, the Russian Hockey Federation's special representative for international affairs, was quoted by the organisation's press service.
This information was previously reported by a TASS news agency source.
"I would like to point out that the decision on the participation of the Russian national team in the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy will be taken by the International Olympic Committee," said Bure.
Hockey players from Russia and Belarus are banned from international competitions from February 2022. Their national teams have already missed three world championships and will not be able to participate in the 2025 World Ice Hockey Championship.
If the Russians do not participate in the Olympics, France, which is ranked first among the non-qualified teams, will take their place. The president of the IIHF is Frenchman Luc Tardif.