Robert Pico supported the CAS decision to return Russian hockey players to the international arena. He noted that sports should not depend on politics, and the victory would be more valuable if you had to fight for it with "Russian hockey players, who are undoubtedly among the best in the world." Earlier, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered the International Ice Hockey Federation to allow Russian teams to compete. However, the federations of Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Norway criticized this decision.