Kalvitis on CAS ruling: Latvian Ice Hockey Federation awaits IIHF decisions

Aigars Kalvitis, president of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (LHF), is not yet commenting on a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) concerning the participation of Russian national hockey teams in international competitions. The portal Sportacentrs.com asked what the decision means for Latvian national teams and what steps the federation will consider. Kalvitis replied briefly that he has no comment for now and that the federation will wait for decisions from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

The IIHF position

The IIHF, the body that governs world hockey and organises the world championships, has expressed disappointment with the CAS ruling. It says this season's world championships for men, women, U20 men, and U18 women and men are already in the preparation stage, so changes are hard to introduce for organisational reasons. The IIHF also stresses that it has not changed its view: Russian teams cannot be admitted to competitions because of security concerns. At the same time, the federation says it respects the authority of CAS and will act in line with its decisions.

Limits set by Latvian law

Latvian national teams compete in several of these tournaments, in the same division where Russian teams played previously. Latvia's Sports Law bans Latvian team-sport national teams from playing against Russian and Belarusian national teams, whether those compete under their own flag or with neutral status.

The law prohibits matches against those teams specifically, not participation in the same tournament. If Latvia chose to skip a world championship because of Russian participation, that would be the LHF's own decision and initiative. Playing a game against Russia's team at a world championship, however, would breach the current Sports Law.