BRAMPTON, Ontario (AP) 鈥 Russia and Belarus won鈥檛 be allowed to compete in International Ice Hockey Federation tournaments as long as the war in Ukraine continues, the group鈥檚 president said Sunday.
With both nations already barred from competing in , its president, Luc Tardif, said a decision on the two countries' eligibility in 2025 will be made in March.
鈥淚 hope Russia and Belarus will come back as soon as possible, because it will mean the war is over,鈥 Tardif said during a news conference held on the final day of the women鈥檚 world hockey championships being held in the Toronto suburbs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a question of security for fans, our teams. Anyway, no visa, cannot travel,鈥 Tardif added. 鈥淎nd nobody knows how long it鈥檚 going to take.鈥
Russian men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 hockey players last competed under the Russian Olympic Committee banner at the 2022 Beijing Games, which concluded shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine. That led to the IIHF barring Russia and ally Belarus from competition, and also having Finland and Latvia host the men's world championships being held next month, after the event was initially awarded to St. Petersburg, Russia.
Should the IIHF extend its ban in March, the decision would effect Belarus鈥 eligibility to compete in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics because that country's teams would be unable to play in Olympic qualifying tournaments in 2025. Russia鈥檚 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams have maintained their rankings while not being allowed to compete.
The International Olympic Committee is leaning toward having Russian and Belarus athletes compete in next year's Paris Summer Games. Tardif said the IIHF isn鈥檛 following the IOC鈥檚 advice because hockey is a team sport. Another issue is security concerns after the IIHF last month cited a risk assessment study it conducted in determining it is not safe to allow Russia and Belarus to compete.
The Russian Hockey Federation dismissed the IIHF鈥檚 security concerns as a 鈥渃ontrived reason鈥 to keep its teams out of competition.
鈥淚 understand that sometimes there is a politic approach,鈥 Tardif said Sunday. 鈥淎s a human being, I鈥檝e got my own understanding of the situation. But with my IIHF cap, I have to take the decision following our executive and to protect our competition.鈥
In other news, USA Hockey announced it has selected Utica, New York, as host for next year鈥檚 women鈥檚 world championships, tentatively scheduled to run from April 4-14. That would mark the fifth time the United States has hosted the tournament and first since 2017, when it was held in Plymouth, Michigan.
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