Young players, team staff and their families could face security risks and the prospect of national teams withdrawing from the World Junior Hockey Championship if Russia returns to the competition, Norway’s hockey federation said.
Canada says it is acting because Russia’s war in Ukraine continues with Belarus’s complicity, and it will use immigration law to prevent the two countries from being formally represented at the tournament.
At the Commonwealth Summit in Antigua, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on November 3 that Russian skaters would be unable to compete at the world junior championship in Alberta. “While Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal, unjustified, horrific war in Ukraine, as long as that's going on, there will be none of those athletes competing for their countries in Canada,” Carney said.
The dispute began after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The International Ice Hockey Federation, or IIHF, then barred Russian teams from international competition and extended the ban each year.
In late October 2026, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, known as CAS, overturned that ban. It found that safety and security concerns “were not supported by sufficient evidence”, restoring Russian eligibility for IIHF events. The IIHF said it was disappointed by the ruling and would work to put it into effect.
Finland’s hockey association responded on Monday by asking other countries to oppose the decision. By Tuesday, the federations of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Latvia and the Czech Republic had joined Finland in saying they would refuse to play Russia.
Heikki Hietanen, chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, said: “We are currently gathering as many countries as possible to form a common front to tell the IIHF that none of us will play against Russia in this situation.”
Norway said it would play tournament games against every team except Russia. “Our position that Russia should be excluded from all international championships as long as the war in Ukraine continues... remains unchanged,” its federation said. It said games against Russia could expose players, staff and families to significant security risks.
The Swedish Ice Hockey Association said: “The Swedish line was and is crystal clear: Sweden will not play ice hockey matches against Russia in the situation we are in right now.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, urged other governments to follow suit. “If CAS lacks a moral compass, let's show that hockey still has values. Refuse to play against Russia and deny visas to its players. Keep Russia off the ice! A war of aggression and hockey are incompatible,” he said.
Canada’s government said the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act would be used to stop Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials entering the country to compete under their national symbols. Individual athletes seeking entry as neutrals may still be admitted case by case.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab and Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden issued a joint statement describing the measure as a way to prevent Russia and Belarus from using international sport for state representation and propaganda.
A 2024 investigation by the human rights organisation Global Rights Compliance found that several athletes approved to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics had breached eligibility rules through public support for the invasion or links to Russian and Belarusian military organisations.
The last World Juniors to include Russian players took place in Red Deer and Edmonton in 2021, inside a COVID-safe bubble. Russia lost to Finland in the bronze-medal game.
The World Junior Hockey Championship is scheduled to begin on December 26 in Alberta. The 2027 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships are set for December 26 to January 5, 2027, in Edmonton and Red Deer. The next tournament in which CAS ordered the IIHF to allow Russian participation is the Under-18 Women’s World Championship, scheduled for January 8-16, 2027, in Czechia.
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