Canada joins countries refusing to play ice hockey against Russia
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Russian players will not take part in the world junior championship in Canada. Several European hockey federations, including Latvia's, are also refusing to play Russia after a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling.
Canada has joined a group of countries refusing to play ice hockey against Russian teams. Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that Russian players will not be allowed to compete in the world junior (under-20) championship hosted in Canada next month. The tournament is set to begin on 26 December in Alberta. The reason given is Russia's war in Ukraine.
"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 told reporters.
Background
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) barred Russian teams after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and extended the ban every year. Russia's hockey federation appealed several times. On Friday the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) finally lifted the ban, saying safety and security concerns were not supported by sufficient evidence.
Federations respond
On Monday the Finnish Ice Hockey Association asked other nations to oppose the decision. On Tuesday the federations of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Latvia and the Czech Republic said they sided with Finland. Norway's federation was the first to announce it would play tournament games against all teams except Russia, saying that playing Russia in current circumstances could expose its players and staff to significant security risks.
Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha thanked European nations and urged them to refuse to play Russia and to deny visas to its players.
The CAS ruling leaves cities around the world to decide whether to host upcoming tournaments as planned if Russians compete while the war continues.
