Sweden, Denmark and Norway refuse to play Russia at 2027 hockey worlds

Sweden, Denmark and Norway have said they will not play Russia at the ice hockey World Championship in Germany in May 2027. Their statements came a day after Finland's ice hockey federation took the same position, and AP reported that six countries have now refused to play Russia or threatened a boycott.

The CAS ruling

Russia has been barred from International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) events since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. On October 30, however, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and ruled that Russia must be admitted to the world championships. CAS found that the IIHF had not provided enough evidence to support its safety concerns. The IIHF opposed the ruling and said it would be difficult to put into practice, because the tournament draw and schedule had already been set without Russia.

Federations' positions

"Our view that Russia should be banned from all international championships for the duration of the war in Ukraine remains firm," the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association said. Sweden's federation said it was "inconceivable for Russia to take part in international ice hockey as long as the war in Ukraine continues" and that "Swedish national teams will not play matches against Russian national teams." Danish federation head Henrik Bach Nielsen told Ritzau: "For the sake of the integrity of ice hockey as a sport, we cannot see ourselves playing against Russia as things stand now. It will end in chaos if we do." The countries will play their other group games as scheduled.

Finnish federation president Heikki Hietanen said Finland was trying to rally as many countries as possible into a common front against Russia's return. The Finnish city of Turku said it would withdraw as host of the 2027–2028 junior world championships if Russia were allowed to take part. Reuters reported that the Czech Republic has also refused to play Russia. According to AP, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Russia would not be allowed at the world juniors.

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Sources: Al Jazeera (AFP), AP, Reuters, CAS, IIHF.