Lausanne Final: what will happen to the admission of hockey teams after the CAS decision

The tribunal in Lausanne has fully satisfied the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation against the decision of the IIHF Council of July 27, 2026 on the non-admission of our teams to the World Championships. This is a big breakthrough. But we shouldn't be too surprised: from the very beginning it was clear that our side had enough arguments in the legal field. Now, with such a decision in hand, we can continue the difficult process of returning the Russian national teams to the international arena.

Moderate optimism

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has fully satisfied Russia's complaint against the suspension of our hockey players from international competitions. The decisions of the Council of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) have been canceled.

— The RIHF will have to work hard together with the International Ice Hockey Federation to implement the CAS decision and return Russian teams to participate in competitions under the auspices of the IIHF. The next competition, the World Youth Championship, will be held in Canada in the cities of Edmonton and Red Deer, the federation said in a press release.

They noted that during the period of suspension from international tournaments, they continued systematic work: they supported the structure of national teams, trained athletes of different age categories, developed internal competitions, and also paid attention to youth, youth and women's hockey.

"This is good, positive news," two—time Olympic champion Vyacheslav Fetisov told Izvestia. — I wonder what argument our side had that we hadn't used before. I think the decision is very positive. The main thing is how it will be implemented. We see a lot of tricks that are used to keep us out. We hope that the IIHF will enforce the CAS decision.

The former head of the International Ice Hockey Federation, and now the honorary president of this organization, Rene Fasel, expressed support for the Russians.

"I am very pleased with this decision," he said in an interview with Izvestia. — This is a very good sign for other sports federations as well. Especially for team sports! The main thing is the athletes! They will be able to return to participate in international competitions! There are still many difficulties ahead, but the first step has been taken.

However, optimism should be moderate for now. There can be no complete confidence that everything will go as smoothly from now on. While the CBO is ongoing, the political aspect must be taken into account. This is evidenced by the statement of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which remained extremely dissatisfied with the decision. She immediately tries to hide behind security issues, organizational difficulties, and other excuses. It's a typical story for European functionaries.

— The International Ice Hockey Federation expresses its disappointment with the CAS decision to allow the Russian Ice Hockey Federation to declare a Russian team for all IIHF championships with immediate effect. The IIHF disagrees with this aspect of the ruling and continues to maintain that its decisions were necessary to ensure the safety and security of all participants and to protect the integrity of its competitions. Although the IIHF respects the authority of the CAS and will act in accordance with its ruling, this result does not remove the concerns on which its assessments were based, the international federation noted in its release.

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The resolution will have a serious impact on the organization of tournaments, the preparation for which is already at an advanced stage. Changes in the composition of participants require extensive coordination with the relevant national member associations and organizing committees, including a review of competition formats, schedules, travel and accommodation arrangements, as well as security measures.

The IIHF said in a statement that it will urgently assess the steps necessary to enforce the ruling and eliminate its operational consequences, and the time frame that this will require. The safety of all participants and honesty will remain the main components in this work, the federation noted.

Who still opposes Russian hockey players?

Healthy pragmatism is the foundation from which the representatives of the FHR will surely build in their future actions, including during negotiations. What's next? One can only assume here, since a number of European federations (Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Germany) are still categorically opposed to the participation of the Russian national team in any tournaments.

You can always come up with something and keep the members of the delegation out without giving them a visa under some far-fetched pretext. This definitely applies to the adult World Cup, which will be held in Germany in the spring. There is another factor: the Ukrainian national team returned to the elite after many years. It is possible that the organizers will be able to justify the non-admission of Russians, despite the CAS decision.

"Our position remains unchanged: we oppose the return of Russian national teams to international tournaments," Frank Lutz, president of the German Hockey Union, quotes the organization's official website. — As a member of the IIHF, we have clearly and unambiguously stated this both to the IIHF Board and during the CAS hearings. This decision fundamentally changes the initial conditions for hosting the 2027 World Cup in Germany. The admission of the Russian Federation for us as a host country entails serious security consequences, as well as political and economic consequences. We are currently analyzing this decision together with the IIHF and will inform you about the next steps.

There's no escaping politics anyway. Given the changes in relations between Russia and the United States, the participation of our national team in the World Junior Championships in Duluth (Minnesota) starting at the end of April seems inevitable.

There are still questions about the Ice Hockey World Youth Championship in Alberta, which will be held from December 26, 2026 to January 5, 2027. The position of the Canadian government towards the Russian Federation after February 2022 was very tough, and there are many people from Ukraine living in the country itself. At the same time, both the Canadian Hockey Federation and the TSN television company, which will broadcast the matches, will only be glad to see the return of a historical rival. When it comes to big money, they prefer not to think about the rest. After the CAS decision, Canadian journalists, of course, are already assessing the potential composition of our youth team. We can't wait to see Zharovsky, Privalov and others in a serious case. It would be the best gift for the New Year.