Sports
Canada and Finland Refuse to Play Hockey Against Russia
International ice hockey faces severe disruption as multiple nations reject the return of Russian and Belarusian teams to global tournaments.
By Headlinne · Compiled from reporting by TSN, Guardian and BBC
Canada and Finland barred their national ice hockey teams from playing against Russia on Monday and Tuesday, defying a sports court ruling that lifted a ban on Russian competition.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to compete in the upcoming world junior championship in Alberta next month.
The tournament is scheduled to run from December 26 to January 5.
The decisions follow a ruling last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which overturned an International Ice Hockey Federation suspension that had kept Russian teams sidelined since February 2022.
The sports court contended that safety and security worries cited by officials were not supported by sufficient evidence.
The sudden legal reversal has plunged international hockey into diplomatic and operational turmoil as host cities and sponsors weigh the consequences of Russian participation.
Prime Minister Mark Carney explained the government position during a press conference on Tuesday.
“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,” said Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada.
National federations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Czech Republic also stated they would refuse to play matches against Russia.
Oleg Stepanov, the Russian ambassador to Canada, criticized the decision.
“It is regrettable that Carney's office is bringing politics even into junior hockey, which is meant to unite, not divide,” said Oleg Stepanov, the Russian ambassador to Canada.
Meanwhile, the German ice hockey federation warned it cannot guarantee hosting the men's world championship next year due to extra security costs and operational challenges linked to the ruling.
A major sponsor, Swedish furniture company AJ Products, requested that its logo be removed from referees' uniforms and boards during the tournament.
The International Ice Hockey Federation stated that the implications of the sports court decision were significantly underestimated and that officials are closely monitoring the situation.
Reporting from
- TSNBalanced
Finland says its national teams won't play against Russia in hockey tournaments
- The GuardianBalanced
Canada joins coalition refusing to play ice hockey against Russia over Ukraine war
- BBC
World Junior Ice Hockey Championships: Canada bars Russia and Belarus from tournament
How this article was made: Headlinne wrote it with AI from the 3 reports listed above. Direct quotes are checked word for word against those reports, every number appears in at least one of them, and no other sentence is copied from one. Photos are from those reports and credited to them. Each report’s page on Headlinne links to the outlet’s original.