Norway, Denmark and Sweden have announced that they will not face Russia in the next Ice Hockey World Championships due to the war in Ukraine, following Finland's example.
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03/11/2026
by
Lusa
A Norway, Denmark and Sweden have today declared that they refuse to face Russia in the next ice hockey world championships due to the war in Ukraine, following Finland's example.
The Arbitral Sports Tribunal (TAS) ordered Russia's reintegration into the world ice hockey championships as of this season.
The decision was regretted by the International Federation, which banned Russian athletes from their competitions since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Nordic countries are strong supporters of Ukraine, and the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation announced today in a statement that “it will not face Russia in the 2027 World Cup.”.
“Our position — that Russia should be excluded from all international championships for the duration of the war in Ukraine — remains unchanged,” the body stressed, however ensuring that it intends to play the remaining matches of the group as planned.
“ For the integrity of ice hockey, we don't see ourselves playing against Russia in the current situation. If we did, this would result in chaos,” argued Danish president Henrik Bach Nielsen in statements to the Ritzau agency.
For its part, the Swedish federation reiterated that it is still “inconceivable that Russia should participate in international ice hockey as long as the war in Ukraine continues”.
“ Swedish national teams will not play games against Russian teams,” the entity said in a press release.
According to Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, after the TAS decision, the first competition in which Russian hockey players will participate will be the Junior World Championship, which will take place in Canada between December 26, 2026 and January 5, 2027.
The Men's World Championship is due to take place in Germany in May 2027, followed by the women's edition in November 2027, Canada.
On Monday, Finland, the current champion, said that it will resort to “all possible means” to prevent the reintegration of Russia.
The Finnish city of Turku stated, in turn, that it will give up hosting the Junior World Championship in 2027-2028 if neighbouring Russia will attend the event.