The head of the IIHF linked the admission of Russians to tournaments with the safety of their holding

The head of the International Hockey Federation (IIHF), Luc Tardif, said that the admission of the Russian and Belarusian national teams to participate in tournaments depends only on the possibility of safely organizing the competition. He added that the decision on the participation of Russian hockey players in the 2028 Olympic Games will be made by the end of February.

“Tardif emphasized that any inclusion of Russia and Belarus in IIHF competitions is entirely dependent on the ability to ensure the safety of athletes and organizers, as well as on the IIHF’s ability to hold a safe tournament,” the statement reads. message on the federation website.

The national teams of Russia and Belarus were suspended from participation in IIHF tournaments in February 2022. In October 2023, the Ice Hockey Federation published preliminary program of the group stages of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in which the Russian team is assigned to group C with the note “theoretical seeding position in the event of a decision to return the team to the championship program.”

Petr Buzlaev