CAS orders Russian hockey teams admitted to 2027 world championships while adult curling ban stands

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the body that settles international sports disputes and is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, announced decisions in two sports on 30 October 2026. In ice hockey, it upheld an appeal by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHR) and ordered the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to admit Russian national teams to the 2027 world championships. In curling, by contrast, it rejected Russian challenges to the exclusion of adult teams.

Hockey: how the decision came about

In January 2026, the IIHF Council decided not to integrate Russian teams into IIHF competitions for the 2026/27 season, citing concerns about participants' safety. The FHR challenged this before the IIHF Disciplinary Committee, which annulled the decision in May and sent the matter back to the Council. In June, the Council confirmed its original decision.

The FHR and the IIHF then agreed to skip the federation's internal bodies and refer the case directly to CAS. It was heard in person on 23 and 26 October in Lausanne. The panel consisted of Giulio Palermo (Italy), Ismail Selim (Egypt) and Mark Howell (Britain).

The panel unanimously concluded that, under the relevant IIHF rules, only well-founded security concerns could outweigh the participation of athletes of a particular nationality. In its view, the Council's decision lacked supporting evidence. The decision was set aside with immediate effect, but the panel did not rule on additional requirements such as a neutrality regime or organisational consequences, as these were not the subject of the appeal.

Curling: exclusion remains

On 13 October, CAS rejected two appeals by the Russian Curling Federation and athletes against decisions of the World Curling Federation. These lift the exclusion of Russian juniors but keep the exclusion of adult national teams from world competitions until the end of 2026. The federation argued that their participation would pose serious competition integrity challenges, including teams refusing to play Russians, hosts declining to stage events, or visa refusals. The panel found the decisions concerned only organisational matters.

CAS also noted a number of decisions in individual winter sports in which Russians have been admitted as neutral athletes. A biathlon case is still pending, with a ruling promised soon.