IIHF Makes Controversial Call Banning Certain Teams From Upcoming Events

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Hunter Bowman
February 12, 2024 (7:58 PM)

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After more than a year of deliberation, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has made a decision regarding the participation of certain teams. In an announcement today, the IIHF declared that Russia and Belarus will be excluded from the upcoming 2024/25 championships.

Today, during one of its regularly scheduled meetings, the IIHF Council reviewed the current safety risks associated with reincorporating the Russian and the Belarusian National and Club Teams into Competitions. Based on a thorough analysis, the llHF Council concluded that it is not yet safe to reincorporate the Russian and Belarusian Teams back into HF Competitions. Therefore, Russia and Belarus will not participate in the 2024/2025 IIHF championship season. This decision will also apply to the Belarusian team regarding the Final Olympic Qualification Round that will be played in August 2024.

As it has been done over the past years, the IIHF Council will continue to monitor the situation, with the latest date to determine if it is safe to reincorporate Russia and Belarus for the 2025/2026 Championship season in May 2025 at the IIHF Council meeting ahead of the llHF Annual Congress.

The decision comes amidst the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with Belarus's involvement in supporting Russia also factoring into the equation.

Attention now shifts to Israel and their potential participation, given the turmoil in the Middle East. While discussions between the NHL and IIHF have been ongoing, no concrete updates have been provided since January.

"The NHLPA has been in constructive talks with the IIHF to ensure the continued participation of Israeli National Teams in international hockey competitions. We remain committed to this process until a resolution is reached," stated the NHLPA in a recent communication.

Source: Bladeofsteel