Ukraine is back at the hockey World Championship after 20 years. A ruling in Russia’s favor could knock it out before the tournament begins.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ordered the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to allow Russia’s national teams to return to international tournaments immediately. The ruling surprised everyone — including the Russian team itself. It is not even clear how to carry it out in practice, since the fields for this season’s major tournaments were finalized long ago. If Russia is allowed to compete in the upcoming world championship, organizers may well have to drop the lowest-ranked team: Ukraine.Russia was barred from international hockey tournaments after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as it was from competitions in other team sports, such as soccer and basketball. In 2026, those bans gradually began to come under review. In May, the IIHF’s disciplinary committee instructed the federation’s leadership to reconsider its decision to exclude Russia’s national teams from the 2026–2027 season. The leadership upheld the ban, however, citing “ongoing safety, security, and sporting integrity concerns.” Russia successfully challenged that decision at CAS.The court ruled that Russia’s national teams must be allowed to compete in the following tournaments:Men’s World Junior Championship (Canada, December 26, 2026–January 5, 2027)Women’s U18 World Championship (Czechia, January 8–16, 2027)Men’s U18 World Championship (United States, April 22–May 2, 2027)Men’s World Championship (Germany, May 14–30, 2027)Women’s World Championship (Canada, November 3–14, 2027)Most hockey-playing countries opposed the CAS ruling. The hockey federations of Canada, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Latvia, Austria, Norway, Denmark, and Ukraine condemned it. All of those countries’ teams are due to compete in the upcoming world championship. Only the Slovak and Belarusian federations supported the ruling. Belarus’s national teams, like Russia’s, have been barred from international tournaments since 2022, but their return is not under consideration here.Russian players may be denied entry to the host countries. Even if Russia’s teams make the final tournament fields, it is unclear whether their members will receive visas. Canadian Sports Minister Adam van Koeverden has already hinted at restrictions, saying that Canada, which will host the World Junior Championship, “will maintain restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes at events hosted in Canada that receive funding from the Government of Canada.” Czechia, which will host the Women’s U18 World Championship, also has a law barring Russian citizens from competing in sporting events.In Germany, which is due to host the season’s main event — the men’s world championship — hockey officials have not ruled out withdrawing as hosts altogether if Russia is admitted. “We’re looking at a scenario in which we would give up the world championship. I’m optimistic, but I can’t guarantee 100% that the championship will take place in Germany in May 2027,” said Frank Lutz, chief executive of the German Ice Hockey Federation.For now, officials have simply told Russian athletes to “get their passports ready.” Some may not even have passports, and whether they can get them on short notice is another question.The tournament fields have already been finalized without Russia: Four of the five tournaments — all except the women’s world championship — have confirmed their participating teams and published full schedules. Tickets are already on sale for the World Junior Championship and the U18 championships. Organizers will probably have to scramble either to change the formats to accommodate Russia as an extra team or to give it another team’s place. Either option risks organizational chaos. If Russia is added as an extra team, where will the time for the additional games come from? And if another team loses its place, what happens to tickets already sold and the money fans stand to lose?The men’s world championship could prove the most contentious: If the IIHF decides to keep the previously approved 16-team format, Russia would probably have to replace the lowest-ranked team. That team is Ukraine, which qualified for the world championship for the first time in 20 years.Russia itself effectively has no fully functioning national team at present. The last tournament its senior national team played in was the Channel One Cup in 2022. Afterward, then-head coach Alexey Zhamnov’s contract was not renewed. With no prospect of games to play, no replacement was ever appointed. Instead, a team called “Russia 25” was formed under Roman Rotenberg and played games against Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation has repeatedly said that Russia 25’s purpose is to develop young players and that it is not, in itself, a substitute for a fully functioning national team.The IIHF can still challenge the CAS ruling in the Swiss Supreme Court, but it is unclear whether it will. In a press release issued immediately after the ruling, the IIHF said it disagreed with the decision but recognized CAS’s authority and would comply. The federation said further information about implementing the ruling and arranging the affected competitions would be communicated “in due course.” It will probably make some decisions at the IIHF Council’s scheduled meeting on November 2–3.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.