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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled Friday that Russia must be allowed into international ice hockey competition for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, clearing the way for it to compete in the 2027 World Championships.
CAS sided with Russia’s appeal of a July International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) ruling which kept in place its ban of the country throughout the 2026-27 season. The IIHF has argued including Russia would raise safety concerns, but CAS ruled its reasons “were not supported by sufficient evidence.”
The 2027 IIHF Men’s World Championship is set to take place in Germany next May, with a 16-team field already determined. CAS gave no guidance on how Russia’s participation should be established. Ukraine was the final team to qualify for the tournament, raising the possibility Russia might compete alongside or instead of the country it launched a war against.
The IIHF released a statement condemning the decision and raising practical concerns over its ability to incorporate Russia into upcoming tournaments.
“The IIHF disagrees with this aspect of the ruling and maintains that its decisions were necessary to protect the safety and security of all participants and safeguard the integrity of its competitions,” the governing body wrote. “While the IIHF respects the authority of CAS and will act in accordance with its ruling, the outcome does not remove the concerns that informed its assessments.”
The CAS ruling marks a potential watershed moment for Russia’s participation in international sport, which has been heavily restricted the last five years. Since the full-scale invasion, Russia has been banned from all international hockey, soccer, and basketball competition, most individual sports have required Russians to compete under a neutral flag, and Russian athletes have been forced to undergo a strict neutrality vetting process to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes in the Olympics.
Recently, several sporting governing bodies have begun to ease bans on Russia. In July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) lifted its provisional suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) after determining the ROC no longer operates any regional organizations in occupied Ukrainian territory. Last December, CAS overturned the International Ski and Snowboard Federation’s blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in Olympic qualifying events.
Yet, Friday’s ruling marks the first time CAS has required Russia to be reinstated into a sport as a full national team. It also explicitly did not require a “neutrality regime,” meaning Russia could be allowed to compete under its national flag.
CAS’s decision also affects the Women’s World Championship next November, the World Junior Championship, and the men’s and women’s U18 World Championships—all of which will take place in 2027.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a widely documented hockey fan, frequently appearing in exhibition games in Russia and enlisting Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin for campaign advertisements.
The Ukrainian Hockey Federation slammed the decision in a statement Friday, without indicating how it would approach the 2027 World Championship.
“We express deep indignation at such a decision made in the conditions of a full-scale war,” the federation wrote. “The threats that became the basis for the suspension of Russian teams in 2022 have not disappeared, but on the contrary, have only intensified.”
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