The China Mail - Russia's ice hockey stars come in from the cold after CAS ruling

Russia has been banned from International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) competitions since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Court of Arbitraton for Sport (CAS) said it had received three separate appeals from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) this year "concerning the participation of Russian teams in IIHF competitions and participation of the RIHF in an IIHF Congress" and upheld one.

The consequences of the decision opens the way for Russia to compete in five world championship tournaments including the senior events next year -- the men's takes place in Germany in May and Canada hosts the women's in November.

Russia have a storied past in the sport, the men's team being crowned world champions five times -- although their last crown was in 2014 --, and the Soviet Union won it on 22 occasions.

The RIHF "hailed" the decision though Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtiarev warned "tough work" lay ahead in "setting in motion the results of the CAS ruling and ensuring the return of Russian athletes to the competitions."

The IIHF expressed their "disappointment" with the decision which was mild in comparison to the comments by Czech ice hockey legend Dominik Hasek.

"I wasn't happy about that decision, it's unpleasant," the 61-year-old two-time Stanley Cup winning goaltender told Czech agency CTK.

"It's hard to accept. It has to be accepted, because that's how it was decided."

- 'Fundamentally disagreed' -

The first tournament the Russians are eligible for is the junior world championships in Canada that run from December 26 this year to January 5, 2027.

"The CAS Panel... found that the IIHF arguments citing safety, security and other concerns were not supported by sufficient evidence," read the CAS judgement by the three-person panel.

"They noted that the IIHF Disciplinary Board already found that the evidence was insufficient to establish the legal requirements for non-participation.

"The Panel unanimously concluded that... only substantiated security concerns could outweigh athletes of a particular nationality to participate in competitions."

The IIHF said they had a problem with CAS ordering the immediate return of the Russians.

"The IIHF disagrees with this aspect of the ruling and maintains that its decisions were necessary to protect the safety and security of all participants and safeguard the integrity of its competitions," read their statement.

They added there were "significant practical implications", including schedules and safety and security measures regarding the tournaments to be addressed following the ruling.

One such conundrum they face is the men's world championships because there is already a published fixture list for the 16 finalists.

"These decisions made by CAS do not consider the practical elements which cannot be implemented immediately," the IIHF said.

Czech Sports Minister Boris Stastny told CTK he "fundamentally disagreed" with the decision even if "responsibility for the war cannot automatically be placed on individual athletes".

However, he added "at the same time we cannot pretend that nothing is happening."

The IIHF's stance over Russia was not as hardline as that taken by World Athletics, whose blanket ban on Russian involvement has also sparked an appeal from Moscow to CAS.

Luc Tardif, the then-IIHF president, had said at this year's Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina that he wanted Russia back as soon as possible, but not for the 2026-27 season as it "would not be good for our competitions".

His wish received a considerable boost in July when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) eased the restrictions on Russian individual athletes as well as teams.

It opens the way for Russian competitors to qualify for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, although the ultimate decision as to whether the Russians are allowed to compete lies with the federation of each sports.

U.Chen--ThChM