IIHF head says it's important that Russia returns to official tournaments

The early return to the official hockey tournaments of the national teams of Russia and Belarus is very important. This was reported on January 5 in the press service of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) with reference to the head of the federation Luke Tardif.

"As for us, we still want them to come back as soon as possible, because if they come back, it will mean that the conflict is over," Tardif said.

He clarified that beyond that, the competitions themselves and the safety of the players at the competitions are important. According to Tardif, the federation will assess the possibility of the return of the Russian and Belarusian national teams in the next two months.

The head added that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will also have to give its response on the return of Russia and Belarus no later than February 2025.

Earlier, on December 21, 2024, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that national sports federations should continue to work on the return of Russian athletes to world competitions.

The day before it became known that the International Skating Union (ISU) allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in qualifying for the Olympic Games 2026 in Italy in a neutral status. It was specified that the decision applies to competitions in speed skating, figure skating and short track speed skating. At the same time, Russian figure skaters will not be allowed to participate in the team tournament.

Commenting on this, Russian Sports Minister and ROC President Mikhail Degtyarev said that such a decision is a significant breakthrough, bringing closer to a full return to the international sports arena. He added that even this admission is much better than complete isolation of athletes, noting that the work to return Russian athletes to the international arena will continue.

On February 28, 2022, the IIHF decided to suspend the national teams of Russia and Belarus from international competitions for an indefinite period of time. The teams have already missed the 2022 World Championships in Finland. In November 2022, the disciplinary Council of the International Ice Hockey Federation reprimanded the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (FHC) for violating the organization's code of ethics. It is noted that the FHC should have taken action to ensure that teams, clubs and leagues under its jurisdiction do not show support for Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

On March 22, 2023, the IIHF extended the suspension of the national teams of Russia and Belarus from international tournaments. It was noted that it was not safe to return the national teams of Russia and Belarus to competition for the time being.