IIHF Commission rejects Russia and Belarus’ request for disqualification

Board of discipline International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) dismissed the complaint regarding the exclusion of the national teams of Russia and Belarus from the competition.

In February 2022, the IIHF Council, in response to the invasion of Ukraine by the two countries, decided to suspend the Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs from all competitions until further notice.

Both countries failed to qualify for the 2022 World Ice Hockey Championship in May, while Russia will not qualify for the Women’s World Championship, which will start in Denmark next month.

In its decision to dismiss the appeal, the IIHF Disciplinary Committee concluded that the measure was a “security policy”, not a sanction. The Commission concluded that the IIHF Council Governing Body had the power to adopt and implement security policy in accordance with its statutes, had sufficient knowledge to enact the policy, and that the policy was “proportionate” and not “discriminatory”.

The Commission also determined that the IIHF Board’s decision to revoke the rights to host the 2023 Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships and the 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Russia was legal and in line with the IIHF charter.

Finally, the panel concluded that the IIHF Council’s decision not to appoint Russian officials to participate in IIHF competitions remained valid. Members from Russia cannot compete in IIHF committees for the same reason that Russian teams are prohibited from participating in the competitions of the organization.

IIHF President Luc Tardif He replied: “We welcome the decision of the independent IIHF Disciplinary Commission, which supported the IIHF Council’s decision to ban the participation of the Russian and Belarusian national teams and to cancel the two World Championship program events that will be held in Russia next season.”