CAS has returned Russia to world hockey. IIHF not satisfied On Friday, October 30, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the Russian Hockey Federation's appeal. He overturned five decisions of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and ordered Russian teams to be admitted to the World Championship for the 2026/27 season. The decision took effect immediately. The court report said: "The CAS arbitration panel found that the International Ice Hockey Federation's arguments citing safety, security and other concerns were not supported by sufficient evidence." The court emphasized that the participation of athletes of a certain nationality can be limited only if there are justified security threats. The IIHF responded with displeasure: "The IIHF disagrees with this part of the ruling and continues to believe that its decisions were necessary to ensure the safety of all participants and preserve the integrity of the competition." The association promises to implement the decision, but complain about difficulties in the calendar and organizing the championships. The International Ice Hockey Federation is in a stupid position. Russian national teams were not allowed to participate in tournaments for years, and when they had to answer in court, it became clear that the grounds for exclusion were insufficient. I wonder if it wasn't clear from the beginning? Did no one understand that these are politically motivated and completely illegal sanctions in sports? The situation the IIHF finds itself in is made worse by its decision of September 30, 2022. The championship update document confirms the following principles: Russia and Belarus return to the divisions they competed in before the suspension. The number of participants in the World Championship did not increase. To free up places, the procedure for raising and lowering groups between divisions is changing. In the 2026/2027 season, two teams received tickets from the first league to the top league: Kazakhstan (from 1st place) and Ukraine (from 2nd place).

CAS has returned Russia to world hockey. IIHF not satisfied On Friday, October 30, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the Russian Hockey Federation's appeal. He overturned five decisions of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and ordered Russian teams to be admitted to the World Championship for the 2026/27 season. The decision took effect immediately. The court report said: "The CAS arbitration panel found that the International Ice Hockey Federation's arguments citing safety, security and other concerns were not supported by sufficient evidence." The court emphasized that the participation of athletes of a certain nationality can be limited only if there are justified security threats. The IIHF responded with displeasure: "The IIHF disagrees with this part of the ruling and continues to believe that its decisions were necessary to ensure the safety of all participants and preserve the integrity of the competition." The association promises to implement the decision, but complain about difficulties in the calendar and organizing the championships. The International Ice Hockey Federation is in a stupid position. Russian national teams were not allowed to participate in tournaments for years, and when they had to answer in court, it became clear that the grounds for exclusion were insufficient. I wonder if it wasn't clear from the beginning? Did no one understand that these are politically motivated and completely illegal sanctions in sports? The situation the IIHF finds itself in is made worse by its decision of September 30, 2022. The championship update document confirms the following principles: Russia and Belarus return to the divisions they competed in before the suspension. The number of participants in the World Championship did not increase. To free up places, the procedure for raising and lowering groups between divisions is changing. In the 2026/2027 season, two teams received tickets from the first league to the top league: Kazakhstan (from 1st place) and Ukraine (from 2nd place).